Here's To Looking At You
by taintedlegacy
Summary: Seven years after Uchiha Sasuke's departure, tensions between Konoha and Oto have increased. Blood is shed daily. In an attempt to stop the inevitable war, the Hokage forms an elite team, the Kuro Mizu. This is their story, their legend of blood and love.
1. Here's To Looking At You

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…sniff sniff Silly Santa didn't get me what I wanted-the complete ownership of Naruto! Oh well, I don't own Naruto!

Author's Notes: Hey, this is my Christmas/Hinata's birthday one-shot. I got this idea from…well, I'm not quite sure where I got the idea from. I did get the title from the classic movie, _Casablanca_. Great film, you should all see it. Happy late Christmas or whatever holiday you choose/chose to celebrate, and most importantly, Happy Birthday Hyuuga Hinata.

**Note**: The majority of this story will be taking place in one giant flashback. The flashback takes place after the first line break.

**SPOILER WARNING (MAYBE):**

Akatsuki has not, I repeat, **NOT** killed any of the main characters, with the exception of Gaara (who was later resurrected). This means that Asuma is still alive. Sasori was killed, but not by Sakura. He was killed by Nartuo; the reason behind this will be explained later on in the story.

"Regular Talk"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Demon/Inner Sakura Talk"**

'_**Demon/Inner Sakura Thought'**_

Begin:

**Here's To Looking At You**

"Here's to looking at you,**1**" he stated from his position against the wall in the alley.

She stared at him with worried pale-lavender eyes as he raised the jug of sake to his mouth in an honorary toast to her. Why was she here? She had no idea; she could've been in the Hyuuga compound, celebrating her birthday, which had become much more festive ever since Naruto-kun had defeated Neji-niisan almost seven years ago.

Naruto-kun…

It had been so long…so very long since it had happened. How did it happen? She started to think back to a time that was decidedly much happier than now, about seven months ago. It was a time…when the future still looked bright.

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_**FLASHBACK (Will continue for a majority of the story)**_

Seven years. It had been seven years since Sasuke's departure from Konoha. Yet many still hoped that the "last loyal" Uchiha would return; mainly the villagers, the council, and the remaining members of the team that had once been Team 7. Two members of Team 7, that is to say Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura were extremely vocal about their belief on Sasuke's return. Even though Hatake Kakashi never mentioned much about his wayward prodigy, it was easy to tell that he too would do everything in his power to bring Sasuke back.

Four years. It had been four years since Naruto returned to Konoha from his three year training trip. Shortly after he had returned, he had been sent on a mission to Suna in order to help them rescue their captured Kazekage. The mission was a success…but only after a Suna elder, Chiyo, gave her life in order to bring the Kazekage back to life.

Three years. It had been three years since Naruto's closest friends and teammates had learned of his burden. It was essential for them to know, Naruto had said. After all, it wouldn't be right for any of them to die at the hands of Akatsuki without knowing why Akatsuki was after him, he had argued. Not a single youth who had learned of his secret hated him for it…at least, not openly.

Two and a half years. It had been two and a half years since Naruto had done what even the Yondaime was unable to do with one of his prized jutsus, the Rasengan. He had created the Fuuton: Rasen Shuriken by combining his wind element with a regular Rasengan. Shortly after he completed it, the Godaime Hokage had declared it an S-Rank Kinjutsu. Just two months later, after extensive training, Naruto had finally created a Fuuton: Rasengan that didn't have the deadly side-effects on the user. The Hokage had declared his Fuuton: Rasengan as a S-Rank jutsu.

Two years. It had been two years since the Godaime Hokage had called Naruto into her office for a special debriefing. He had been called in while he had been training with the so called "The Konoha Eleven" (essentially all the graduating genin teams from his year and Team Gai from the previous year), or as he liked to refer to it, "The Konoha Eleven That Will Soon Be The Konoha Twelve", a name that was entirely too long to be a commonly used name. During his meeting, the rest of "The Konoha Eleven" gathered outside the Hokage's office, desperate to hear what was so important that Naruto was gathered by two Anbu members and forced to leave their training sessions. When Naruto walked out, he was obviously stunned, which was strange because Naruto was rarely stunned for more than a few seconds; whenever he was stunned, he always managed to rebound. Even stranger, was that he refused to tell anyone what the Hokage had told him. From that point on, everyone had started to see less and less of him. When his friends were worried enough, they asked the Hokage who told them that due to his condition, he had to undergo extensive training in order to protect himself and his burden.

One and a half years. It had been one and a half years since bloody skirmishes between Konoha Oto teams had become common occurrences. The Konoha teams usually faired well in these skirmishes, seeing as the Hokage had forced the Academy students to train harder before they were allowed to become Genin…she didn't want to see any Genin die in a war that was inevitable. She also made it a requirement that a team's sensei/leader and at least one other student/teammate had an intermediate grasp on medical techniques.

One year. It had been one year since the Godaime Hokage had decided that a preemptive strike should be launched. Thus, she decided to send out numerous reconnaissance teams to gather as much information as possible, whether it was supply routes, possible alliances, when and where they may attack, or most importantly, the number of shinobi that Oto had. Team Eight was on a reconnaissance mission in early May when things went bad…things went very bad.

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"Oi, Hinata-chan, behind you!" Kiba shouted as he tried to get to Hinata. There was no way he would reach her in time.

'_Damn, guess I have no choice…it's my third one since the attack started though...gotta get to her though…' _His mind set, he reached into his hip ouch and pulled out a soldier pill. When he popped it into his mouth and chewed, he felt his chakra reserves refill.

Kiba dropped to all fours and ran. The trees in the forest seemed to blur by as he rushed towards Hinata. She was fighting six opponents and was holding them off…for now, anyways. He pushed himself to run faster, ignoring the nausea, the most harmless side-effect of consuming too many soldier pills in short intervals. It was up to him to save Hinata. He was so caught up in his desire to reach Hinata that he didn't see the katana until it was imbedded in his right thigh. Kiba fell to the ground with a grunt.

'_There's no way these guys are "bandits". They're way to skilled…ordinary bandits wouldn't be smart enough to separate us into two groups…and keep Akamaru in the other group. They could be mercenaries…but who hired them?' _Kiba tried to stand up, but it seemed that his leg wound was worse than he thought. Angrily, he pulled out the katana and threw it at the 'bandit' with a traveler's cloak on who had originally stuck it in him.

The 'bandit' leaned to the side and grabbed the hilt of the speeding katana from out of the air. "Thanks gaki," the bald mercenary said as his lips curved into a smirk.

Kiba paled. He had thrown the katana rather hard and it was moving fast, too fast for a mercenary to catch by the hilt. _ 'That means…that these guys are definitely not bandits or mercenaries, but shinobi! But from where?' _He watched helplessly as the mysterious katana-wielding shinobi walked closer. "Since you were so kind to give me my katana back, I'll make your death quick and painless…well, I'm not quite sure about the quick part…or the painless part for that matter. I've never had my heart stabbed, so I'm not sure how long it'll take you to die or how painful it is."

'_Can't…can't summon my chakra…that's what I get for taking too many soldier pills so soon. Is…is this it? Is this how I die? There's still so much more that I wanted to do in life. I never got to become an Oinin like aneue. I never got to tell Hinata…how I really feel about her. NO! It's not the end…not yet, not without a fight.' _While Kiba wasn't the smartest shinobi on his team (he was actually only slightly brighter than Akamaru), he was by no means stupid. He knew that his movement was greatly impaired by his leg wound, so he decided to pretend that he had given up. It was the only chance he had of survival. The katana-wielding shinobi walked even closer, his eyes full of blood lust.

"I wonder…do dogs cry?" Kiba froze in horror. Did he…could that shinobi have harmed Akamaru? "I guess I'll find out when I bring that mutt over here to bathe in your blood. If he's a good dog, maybe I'll let him feast on your intestines." Kiba shook with rage…no ONE…would ever demean Akamaru by suggesting that he was anything but loyal to him. He so wanted to attack the mystery shinobi, but he had to wait. He would only have one chance to attack…he had to wait, no matter how much he disliked it.

"Heh…shaking with fear? Pathetic. I thought that shinobi were supposed to be mindless killing machines. Hmmm…instead of having your mutt feast on you…how about I let you live? That way, you'll be able to see my men and me have some fun with that kunoichi over there…what was her name? Ah yes, Hinata. Does that sound fun? Huh, does it? Too happy to answer eh? Well, in that cas…Ooomph!" The shinobi went flying into a tree behind him. Kiba tried to walk over to the shinobi, but he realized that his leg was still injured. He was forced to hobble over to him.

Putting his face right in front of the mysterious shinobi, he growled, "Don't you EVER say anything about Hinata-chan again…especially not those plans of yours. If anyone is going to do anything intimate with her…it'll be **ME!** Understand?!"

"There's only one thing that I understand…and that's that…you're far too cocky, gaki!" Finishing his sentence, the shinobi plunged his katana deep into Kiba's left leg. This wound seemed to be much worse than the first wound he received. Blood shot out of his wound while Kiba howled and kneeled in pain. The shinobi kicked out, catching Kiba in the head and sent him flying back to where he had first fallen.

"I have to admit, you are better than I expected you to be," the shinobi stated as he walked over. "Your lunge was powerful, but it lacked any real kick to it. Besides, I had this on," taking off his shredded cloak, the mystery man revealed a set of armor, very similar to what samurais wore. He stopped two yards away from Kiba, making sure that he was out of Kiba's range. When he was positive that Kbia couldn't reach him, he lowered his katana and let out a whistle.

Eleven men came to the katana-wielding man's side. The leader of the group, the one that had whistled, looked around in surprise. "That's it? Where's everyone else?"

"Boss, we're all that's left. Mutt-boy over here took out two, and that chick over there took out six."

"Damn. Wait, where is she?"

"We tied her up. See? She's right there, hanging from the branch." Kiba let out a cry of rage as he looked where they were pointing. Hinata's hands were tied behind her back, and it seemed as if she was unconscious.

"Why didn't you kill her?"

"Boss, she's a Hyuuga! We could sell her for a bunch of money! Plus, the boys and I want to have some fun with her."

"Good plan. Let's make Mutt-boy watch us have fun with her. I think he has a thing for her. Tie him up to make sure he doesn't decide to be a hero."

Two of the twelve men managed to tie Kiba up and only received a few scratches. Kiba struggled to break free, but the wires were too strong.

'_Damn, this is some quality wire. Even my wires aren't this sturdy! These guys…they aren't ordinary shinobi!'_

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The twelve men walked up to Hinata and formed a rough half-circle around her. One man reached into his hip pouch and pulled out a small jar of smelling salts. He waved it under Hinata's nose, causing her to stir and eventually become conscious. Her eyes slowly fluttered open.

Her eyes blurrily opened and took in the sight in front of her. An instant later, her still groggy mind registered who was in front of her and her eyes snapped open.

"Glad you're awake Hime. Ready for some fun?" the man who had used the smelling salts finished his statement by reaching out and rubbing her cheeks. "Kami, her skin is as smooth as silk!"

"No! Don't! Please, don't!" Hinata was frightened out of her mind. She had heard of what had happened to kunoichi who had been captured. The stories weren't by any means, a comfort for her.

She had never been in this situation before. Someone had always been there to protect her when she faltered. There had been so many people to protect her-Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, Kurenai-sensei, Naruto-kun, and all of her other friends. Speaking of her teammates, where were they?

She saw a trapped Kiba-kun behind the men. He had probably taken too many soldier pills. Again. She was more worried about the rest of her team though. They had been separated when the attack started. Were they okay?

Before she could continue along on her train of thought, she remembered her predicament. She shut her eyes, hoping that someone would save her. _ 'Kami-sama, I had so wished to be with Naruto-kun…' _ Suddenly, Hinata felt a large chakra signature coming from above her.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa," a male voice whispered form above. The twelve men were blown away from Hinata as a large gust of wind hit them.

"What the…who the hell did that?! Show yourself!" the leader shouted.

"If you insist," stated a male voice from the treetops.

Hinata watched amazed as a bright figure blocked out the sun. The figure landed gracefully on the ground; the man looked like an ordinary ANBU member except for one thing-he was wearing a gold cloak. Another oddity was that his hood was up and it was a rather hot day.

The leader managed to find his voice. He was surprised that neither his men nor he were able to sense the ANBU before he attacked them. "I'm pretty sure that's an ANBU mask you're wearing. I may not recognize the animal on it, but it is most definitely a Konoha ANBU mask."

"You are correct. For you r information, it is a fenikkusu (phoenix)."

"A fenikkusu mask eh? Never heard of any ANBU member that had a fenikkusu mask," as he said that, he felt a tugging at the back of his mind, as if he was forgetting something very important. He dismissed it and continued his observations. "You're cloak is obviously gold. What is not obvious though, is _why_ it's gold. As far as I know, there are only two cloak colors that Konoha ANBU members were-black and white," the leader stated confidently. His men started to snicker. This was no ANBU; it was just some fool trying to trick them!

"Your knowledge is only partially correct. Thus, you must be shinobi. Where are your hitai-ates?"

The leader turned to look at his men behind him before turning back to face the ANBU. "Hitai-ates? We ain't got no hitai-ates! We don't need no hitai-ates. I don't have to show you any stinkin' hitai-ates!**2**" he proclaimed proudly.

Emboldened by their leader's words, the men started to laugh at the oddly clad ANBU. Even Kiba laughed; despite the fact that he wasn't the smartest person on his team, he knew that no ANBU member wore gold cloaks.

Only two people weren't laughing-Hinata and the ANBU member. One wasn't laughing for obvious reasons, and the other because of her bloodline.

Hinata had quickly activated her byakugan when the ANBU had first appeared. All she had seen was a blinding flash of chakra and then noting. She had to stifle a gasp; she knew that the shinobi in front of her was a genuine ANBU member.

Her father had told her of special ANBU cloaks that negated the Hyuuga's byakugan in addition to offering more protection against jutsus and physical attacks. Not all ANBU members received them, only the best were given the rare cloaks. That meant that either the shinobi was an ANBU member or skilled enough to kill a talented ANBU member and take the cloak.

However, his fenikkusu mask was a mystery to her. As far as she knew, all ANBU had their masks modeled after real animals, not legendary animals. She was pulled out of her thoughts as the man who had used the smelling salts on her spoke up.

"Hahaha, gold cloak. What type of fool of a shinobi wears a gold cloak? Baka, that's like wearing a bright orange jumpsuit!"

Hinata frowned; the man had unintentionally insulted Naruto-kun.

"You're not a real ANBU, are you?" Egged on by his comrades' laughter, the man continued. "I bet you still hide behind your father when you get scared, huh?" Hinata was the only one who noticed the ANBU member tense up. "You still go to your mama when you get hurt? Does she…"

The rest of the men waited for him to finish. The leader looked behind him. "Gin, finish your damn sentence, you're getting to the good part! Gin? Gin?!" In Gin's spot…was nothing. The leader turned back to face the ANBU member.

"You! What did you…show yourself, damn it!" Where the ANBU had once stood was nothing except for the tied up Hyuuga. He cautiously checked the wires restraining the girl.

"Good, you're still tied up. Guess we still get to have some fun boys. You all ready?" Once again, the leader received no replies. He slowly turned around; his eyes widened as he realized that all of his men were gone.

"Show yourself you damn coward!" A golden blur to his left caught his eye. He turned to face it and saw the ANBU.

"You…where are my men?!"

"Do you really need to ask that question? They harmed a Konoha shinobi and all of you were threatening to steal the innocence of a Konoha kunoichi. To make it worse, it was the innocence of the Hyuuga heiress you were threatening! Thus, they had to be dealt with accordingly. Don't worry, you'll soon join them."

The leader felt fear overtaking his mind. If the ANBU had indeed killed his men, of which he had little doubt of, then he had no chance of survival.

"I see you have a sword. Show me how well you can wield it! Prepare yourself!" Not a second after the ANBU finished his statement, he charged.

'_So fast! I can barely keep up with his movements!'_ The leader barely managed to raise his sword in time to block the incoming slash; his sword and his entire arm shook. _ 'Fast and strong, I could barely block it!'_

"If you continue this particular style of combat, you will not win. Should you wish to have a chance of victory, you will drop the façade that Orochimaru told you to put up."

"F-façade? I d-don't know what you're talking about!" He charged the ANBU, attempting to find an opening in his opponent's guard. Unfortunately, he didn't find a single flaw in the ANBU's stance.

Kiba was stunned. He didn't know how the ANBU had come to that conclusion. What tied the mysterious shinobi to Orochimaru? Surely, if there was any connection between the two, his team would've spotted it; they were a reconnaissance team after all; they were practically made for figuring out stuff like this!

On the other hand, Hinata was not surprised. When they had first been attacked, she knew that the 'bandits' were shinboi. tHe only hidden village of the three that had grudges against Konoha (Iwa, Kumo, and Oto), only Oto was brave enough to attack a Konoha team in Fire Country.

"Still refuse to use jutsu? In that case…"

"Aaaahhhh!" blood gushed out of a stump that had once been the leader's left arm.

"What will you do now? Even if you wanted to use jutsus, you are unable to now…unless you can do one-handed seals, which I highly doubt."

'Kuso…I guess I have no choice but to use_ it_. Please forgive me Orochimaru-sama…'

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'_The hell is going on! His chakra levels are increasing!'_ Kiba was amazed. Even when he used his soldier pills, his chakra had never shot up this high.

After seeing the shinobi use the cursed seal, Hinata knew that her suspicion of the shinobi's origin was correct. Even though she had never seen a cursed seal, Neji nii-san had told her of it in case she ever encountered one.

"Level one will not improve your chances of victory. I suggest that you go to level two," the ANBU calmly stated. To prove his point, he charged forward undetected and stabbed the Oto-shinobi in the leg.

The Oto-shinobi grabbed his leg in pain. _ 'He's right; I'm no match for him right now. I need to go to level two!'_

Kiba was yet again stunned. By now he had recognized the similarities between this guy and the two that he had fought years ago. _'But this power…it's much stronger than those guys.' _ His eyes widened in horror as he saw the transformation take place.

An enormous surge of chakra erupted around the Oto-shinobi. Instead of regular chakra, this charkas was tainted; it felt evil and meancing.

When the chakra disperced, it seemed as if the shinobi had gone from being human to part lion. His skin was a dark purple and he grew hair which formed a giant mane with eight inch spikes integrated every few inches in it. His left arm regenerated; both hands were replaced with claws. He grew a tail, or rather three tails. Each one had a spiked tip at the end. His entire body rippled with muscles.

"This…this is incredible! So much power! There's no way you can beat me now!" raved the Oto-shinobi.

"That…remains to be seen."

Hinata was worried. To be honest, she worried a lot. This time though, she was extremely worried for ht eANBU. Even thought hey had never met (at least, she didn't think they had. ANBU members tended to keep their personal lives separate form their ANBU lives), she felt very attached to him fro some reason. Perhaps it was because he had save her form a fate far worse than death.

"Take this!" the Oto-shinobi made an upward slashing movement with his right arm. Five blades of chakra flew towards the ANBU. Just as the ANBU dove to the right, he noticed five more blades of chakra coming towards him.

'_Kuso, I didn't expect him to be able to do jutsu without hand seals! I hope my sword can bock these blades!' _the ANBU thought as he raised his sword. He struggled to keep his sword stead as he blocked each chakra attack. He sighed in relieve after the attacke ended and his sword was still intact.

"You don't have time to let your guard down!" shouted the Oto-shinobi as the spikes in his mane flew towards the ANBU. The ANBU dove to his left as the spikes headed to his right. Right before hitting the ground harmlessly, the spikes made a tight right turn and impaled the ANBU's right leg.

'_Kuso, I can't feel my right leg, he must've got a lucky shot in! To make it worse, the spikes went right through my leg and into the ground!'_

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Kiba scoffed at the turn of events. _'Heh, I knew he wasn't a real ANUB member. If he was, he wouldn't have let his guard down after those spikes were launched. What a loser! Besides, a real ANBU member wouldn't have a gold cloak…unless it was Nartuo! Ha, what a joke, Naruto in ANBU! He'd never qualify for ANBU. Only people from major clans can make it in, not orphan demon-brats!'_

Hinata almost shrieked with fright. She knew that the ANBU could have avoided the attack. She had seen him get ready to dodge, but then he suddenly stopped moving. She couldn't figure out why he stopped.

"Hah hah, not so tough now, are you?" taunted the shinobi as he approached the immobile ANBU. "Before I kill you, I'll make you and Mutt-boy watch me as I have some fun with the Hyuuga. Then I'll kill Mutt-boy then you. If the Hyuuga is a good lay, then I'll keep her as my little toy. What a good pla…the hell is that?!"

Hinata's eyes shot open in amazement. Behind the ANBU was a golden fenikkusu composed of what had to be chakra. She didn't even want to think of how much chakra it took to form.

Kiba was not as impressed. Had he been from a clan that dealt more with chakra rather than scent, or had Akamaru been with him, then his attitude would have been much different. _'Feh, pretty fancy genjutsu for someone about to die.'_

The Oto-shinobi was terrified. He had never felt so frightened before, not even when he had faced the wrath of Sasuke-sama and Orochimaru-sama. He knew he was going to die; he knew that he didn't have a chance to survive. Suddenly, he realized who he was fighting. It all made sense. The nagging feeling he had felt earlier had been his subconscious trying to warn him. The speed that his men were taken out with, the superb kenjutsu skills, and the feeling of death caused by the fenikkusu.

"You…you're Konoha's Shikyo no Fenikkusu (Phoenix of Death), aren't you!" it was more of a statement than a question. "The leader of Konoha's Kuro Mizu (Darkest Water)!"

This time, both Hinata and Kiba were confused. Neither had heard of the Kuro Mizu, much less the Shikyo no Fenikkusu. Why had they not heard of either, yet they were both from Konoha?

"You are correct."

The Oto-shinobi was terrified. Now that he thought about it, he had heard tales of what had happened to any enemy of Konoha that faced the Kuro Mizu-the only thing the Kuro Mizu left behind was death. It was said that they were far more ruthless than any other Konoha ANBU, even the Black-Ops.

"Please, don't kill me! I…I can get you money, lots of it! Please, have mercy!"

Even though Hinata couldn't see the ANBU's face, she was sure that he was scowling.

"Mercy? Is mercy what you were about to show to Hyuuga-san and Inuzuka-san? Is mercy what you showed to that Genin team that you came across last week?"

'_H-how the hell does he know about that?' _ "I..I don't know what you're talking about!" The Oto-shinobi was scared witless. He had heard that the Kuro Mizu had little tolerance for anyone who harmed Genin or children.

"There's no point in lying. As soon as I first found your and your men, I recognized your scents. They were the same as the ones left where I found the Genin team. So, how many of your men had to use your cursed seal to kill them? Don't lie now, I tested their Jounin sensei during his test, and he was tough; he would have fought twice as hard to protect his team," the ANBU stated glaring at the shinobi from his position on the ground.

For a reason that he couldn't comprehend, the Oto-shinobi decided to tell the truth. "E-eight of us. F-four of my men had to go to level two to kill the sensei. We took the other Jounin kunoichi back to our camp!"

"And why is that? So you could have fun with her?"

The shinobi gulped; no matter how he looked at it, he couldn't find a good way to say 'Yes' and expect to live. It was said that the one thing that enraged the Kuro Mizu the most was the mistreatment of women and girls. Maybe, just maybe he might live if he played his cards right.

"Y-yes, but you would've too if you had seen her! She has such nice black hair, nice and short and smooth, so very smooth. Plus, her skin is nice and smooth and just perfectly tanned. Plus, she has a really nice rack! Believe me, you would've wanted her too!"

"You're right, I would've wan…"

Before the Shikyo no Fenikkusu could finish his statement, the Oto-shinobi interrupted him. He could see his chances of survival increasing! All he had to do was to make a deal with the Shikyo no Fenikkusu.

Kiba found that he started to like the ANBU. After all, any girl with nice hair was a beauty in his book; fine hair was like a dog with a fine coat, everybody wanted the dog with a great coat.

He wondered if he could blackmail the ANBU with what he had just heard. If he was lucky, maybe he would let him have a go with the Jounin. He would have to borrow the mask though, in order to make sure that the Jounin wouldn't see his face. He was literally drooling with excitement.

Hinata was disgusted. She couldn't believe that her saviour, someone who she had suddenly began to hold in very high regard (just under Naruto-kun and her teammates), turned out to be a perverted scumbag. If she could have, she would have attacked the ANBU for giving her false hope and for being a perverted scumbag.

The Oto-shinobi knew that he was saved. There was no way he would be killed now. He smiled as he stated, "It's nice to know that not all Konoha shinobi are damn tree-hugging chivalrous fags. Since you let me live, I'll let you have fist go at the kunoichi. I'm pretty sure that she's a virgin, so you can be the lucky guy to deflower her! How's that sou-Aaahhh!"

The Shikyo no Fenikkusu had managed to pull out one of the spikes from his leg and threw it at the man's foot, effectively rendering him immobile.

"The hell are you doing man?! I thought we had a deal!"

"Deal? There was never a deal."

"But…but you said you wanted to bone the kunoichi!" the Oto-shinobi could feel the panic start to rise up again. He didn't want to die, not yet!

"No, you cut me off. If you had let me finish, you would have heard me say, 'You're right, I would've wanted her to be safe.' Cutting me off was a mistake. You should be thankful that we found the captured kunoichi alive, well, and untouched. Had you raped her, then you would die a very painful death."

'_No, I can't die! Not now, not when I was just promoted!' _ "Please, have mercy! That's what Konoha stands for right? Mercy and second chances? You can't kill me in cold-blood, that would be…unethical! Would you stoop to my level just to kill me? Would yo…" the rest of his sentence was cut off as blood flowed out of the hole made by a second spike stuck in his throat.

The Shikyo no Fenikkusu lowered his voice until all those around him could barely hear him whisper, "Yes. Yes I would stoop to your level to kill you. Our reasons for killing however, are different. I kill for justice while you kill for fun…you are worse than trash!"

Seconds later, the life ebbed away as enough blood gushed out of the wound to end the man's life. The battle was finally over.

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Kiba was pissed. First, he had overdosed on soldier pills to save Hinata, failed, got tied up, was ready to have some fun with a mysterious beauty, had that dream shattered, and then had to be saved by some loser of an ANBU. Worse, he was humiliated in front of his Hinata-chan.

"Oi, I still don't believe that you're a real ANBU member!" Kiba had to try to salvage his pride however he could. Normally, he would've blamed Akamaru for being incompetent or getting in his way, but he wasn't here. He couldn't blame Hinata-chan, otherwise he would never get in his pants, so he decided to vent on the only person left-the ANBU.

"Kiba-kun, be polite! He saved our lives! He defeated those that we couldn't, which means that he is more skilled than we are. The ease with which he disposed of them proves that he is an ANBU."

"Feh, if he was an ANBU then he wouldn't be stuck now would he? Besides, ANBU always travel in squads. Where's his squad now, huh?" _'Finally, I got him cornered! Now Hinata-chan can see that I can think too, not just fight!'_

Hinata hated to admit it, but Kiba-kun was right about the ANBU's squad. ANBU always traveled in squads of at least four. Maybe he had been separated from his squad; after all, the same had happened to her team right now. She was about to ask the ANBU if he knew where his squad was when the ANBU let out two short whistles.

Instantly, five more ANBU members appeared. These ANBU members were also different than the regular ANBU; their cloaks were not black and white. Just like the other ANBU, they had their hoods on. The injured ANBU on the ground made a signal with his hand, and the ANBU wearing a lizard mask and a green cloak approached him while an ANBU wearing a monkey mask and a gray cloak and an ANBU wearing a rhino mask and an orange cloak walked towards Kiba and Hinata respectively. The other two, one with a jaguar mask and a beige cloak and one with a wolf mask and silver cloak took to the trees once again.

The lizard ANBU knelt next to the immobile ANBU and made a few hand seals. As her hands started to glow green with medical chakra, she placed them over the general area of the spikes and made an upward movement. The spikes slowly lifted them out of the ANBU's leg.

While the monkey mask ANBU untied Kiba, the rhino mask ANBU cut the wire around Hinata, who winced as she felt the circulation return to her hands. Her eyes were focused on the injured ANBU; the spikes that were removed were covered in blood and the wounds they left behind must have hurt a lot. Again, she had to wonder why the ANBU didn't dodge the spikes. She finally came to the conclusion that he had made a mistake. It made sense to her; after all, her life had been full of mistakes and failures. Up until recently, she hadn't had that many successes in her life. She wanted to go up to the ANBU and tell him to stand tall, and even though life may seem to be horrible it will look up…eventually. However, she couldn't muster the courage to say that to him.

"Commander, why didn't you dodge the spikes? I know you could've. Hell, you could've destroyed them if you wanted to!" the lizard mask ANBU had to ask. She didn't want her commander not to worry about getting injured just because she was here to heal him!

"Tokage-chan (lizard), think about it. We've encountered shinobi with these spikes before. You know just as well as I do how hard they are to destroy. I would have had to used a very powerful A-rank ninjutsu to destroy it, which would also have harmed the two other Konoha shinobi in the area. While I would survive the damage, I doubt they would. If I had dodged or deflected them from where I am, then at least one of the spikes would've hit either Hyuuga-san or Inuzuka-san."

Hinata finally understood why he didn't dodge. It wasn't because he couldn't; it was because he didn't want to. She was happy to know that this man was an ANBU; he certainly deserved the rank, he was definitely skilled enough.

"Fenikkusu-san, arigato for saving my teammate and me…as well as protecting my innocence. Sai-san (rhinoceros), arigato for cutting me down," Hinata was not only obligated, but wanted to thank the mysterious ANBU members for saving her life and her innocence. The Fenikkusu ANBU nodded his head as he stood up.

"Feh, it was nothing. Wasn't like we weren't in the area or anything. Besides, commander would've made us help you guys, even if we weren't in the area. He always helps out Konoha teams whenever he can. He's a big softy despite his reputat-Owwww! Commander, what was that for?!"

"For calling me soft Sai-chan."

Before Sai could retort, Kiba interrupted. "Feh, what are you guys, are freakin' rainbow? What type of idiots wear bright cloaks?!"

Hinata sighed. No matter how many years had passed, Kiba was still as tactless as he was when he graduated from the Academy. Worse, he had gotten even more arrogant as his skills and rank improved. It was a common occurrence for him to get in over his head due to his overconfidence. She was about to apologize for her teammate's words when the monkey-masked ANBU approached him and hit him on the head…hard. Hinata could see the bump forming on his head.

"That's for insulting us damn mutt! Think before you talk next time. Better yet, think before you attack because next time, I'm not gonna save your ass!" the ape masked ANBU yelled.

"Saru-kun (monkey), calm yourself. We have better things to do than argue with Chuunin."

"How the hell do you know we're Chuunin? You freakin' stalkers or something?!"

All the ANBU members present just stared at him while Hinata sighed and covered her eyes with her face. Sometimes, Kiba-kun was so embarrassing.

"Hah, can't think of a good answer, huh?"

"Have you looked at your vest recently?" Fenikkusu stated calmly.

"Ya, what about it?"

"It's a Chuunin vest."

"Ya so wha…oh." _'Damn it, there they go again, humiliating me in front of my Hinata-chan! I'll get them back!'_

"Commander, the rest are on their way. They'll be here in thirty seconds," stated the jaguar mask ANBU from a tree branch.

"Arigato for the update Jaga-kun (jaguar)."

"Feh, I didn't need your help! If my ninken (ninja dog), Akamaru, hadn't been so incompetent, then he would've been by my side and we would've beat those guys into dust!"

"Typical Inuzuka. Always so arrogant and dependant upon their ninken! All of your clan's ninken must be incompetent then, because every time any Inuzuka mess up it's because of their ninken's incompetent skills, not theirs!" ranted the wolf mask ANBU from a branch opposite of the other ANBU in the other tree.

"Ookami-chan (wolf), that's enough!"

"No it isn't! Don't you recognize him? He's going to lead his clan one day, and if we manage to make him learn that _he_ has to improve his skills and not just his ninken, then maybe the Inuzuka clan won't be dead weight and we won't have to save them all the time. Why is it that whenever we save a team, ninety percent of the time there'll be an Inuzuka on the team?!"

"Regardless, it is not our place to change their ways. If they want to stay that way, then it is not our place to change that."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this!"

"You will stop arguing now. We have company."

Hinata and Kiba both tensed. Neither were ready for combat, not so soon. Hinata was still trying to get the numbness out of her hands, and Kiba still couldn't summon his chakra. Suddenly, Kiba was tackled to the ground, unable to move.

'_C-can't breathe…Can't believe I'm getting humiliated…again!'_

------------------------------------

Suddenly, Kiba could breathe again. He looked around him, to see who had saved him. Much to his displeasure, it was the Fenikkusu who had saved him…again.

"You shouldn't have such a big ninken if you can't control him," the Fenikkusu stated.

"Akamaru! Bad boy! Don't jump on me when I'm injured!" Kiba couldn't believe that his dog was stupid enough to jump on him when he was still injured.

"Kiba-kun, don't be so harsh. Akamaru here had his fair share of combat with us," Kurenai-sensei scolded. Kiba managed to look ashamed.

"Kurenai-sensei, Shino-kun, Akamaru-kun, you're all alright!" Hinata shouted. She was ecstatic that her team was fine.

"Of course we're fine Hinata-chan, you didn't think that those shinobi disguised as bandits could beat us, did you?"

"Kurenai-sensei, I believe that she did. Judging from their appearance, I believe that they were having trouble defeating their opponents. It would seem that Hinata-san and Kiba-san had to be rescued by the ANBU," Shino calmly stated.

"Hmm, I guess you're right Shino-kun. Oh well, I'm sure you two will do better the next time around. We'll just have to add in some more training sessions," Kurenai stated.

Hinata just nodded, she knew that their performance had been lacking. They were lucky that the ANBU were nearby and managed to save them. Kiba however, was outraged.

"Extra practices?! We're already up to our ears in practices! I'm sick and tired of them! You've given us too many already! The only reason that we lost was because we were dead tired from all the practices you have us do, Kureani-sensei! Right, Hinata-chan?"

Kureani was angry. She knew that her Inuzuka student got into a bad mood whenever he performed badly on a mission or had to be saved. For some reason, he was in an even worse mood today. However, that did not excuse his lack of respect.

"Ano…Kiba-kun, we haven't had a practice in a few days. The last practice was two days before our mission, which would make it five days since we last practiced. I agree with Kurenai-sensei, we should never have been in this position. This just goes to show why we are not Jounin yet," Hinata stated.

"I can't believe that you're not backing me up! Don't tell me that you want to have more practices!"

"I don't want to have more practices, but judging from today's performance, we need them. I may not like it, but we have to have them! I don't want to have to save you all the time!"

Hinata's entire team was surprised. "Hinata-chan…do you realize that during your entire rant you didn't stutter once?"

"W-what d-did you say K-kurenai-sensei?"

'_And here I was, thinking that her stuttering was gone.'_ "Never mind. I think it's time that we get going. We have to reach Konoha; the sooner the better."

"Not yet Kurenai-sensei! We should find out who these frauds are! Maybe they're nuke-nin, and they killed some real ANBU for the masks. We should capture them and bring them in for questioning! We might even get a promotion…"

"Kiba! Stop being an idiot! These are genuine ANBU members! What makes you think that they're frauds!"

"Look at their cloaks Kurenai-sensei! When have you ever seen colored cloaks like that? My aneue is an ANBU, and she has a black cloak. She told me that the only cloaks are black and white! There's no way that these rainbow freaks are ANBU!"

"Kiba, you will listen to me! They are GENUINE ANBU! Now enough of this foolish talk, we need to get back to Konoha!" Kurenai was quickly losing her patience. They had vital information, and they didn't have the luxury of arguing.

"But Kurenai-sensei, don't you know how much money we could get for bringing these frauds in! It's illegal for shinobi to pose as an ANBU member; we get a share of the fine that they have to pay if we bring them in! Damn, how the hell did you become a Jounin woman? This is why woman need men to tell them what to do!"

-----------------------------

Silence reigned. Nobody spoke; even the birds stopped chirping. The temperature in the clearing in the forest seemed to drop by a hundred degrees.

Shino sighed. He had always known that one of these days his rash teammate would die because of his mouth. He had just never expected his teammate to be killed by his sensei.

Hinata was stunned. She knew how frustrated Kiba-kun had been, but she had never expected him to go as far as to insult Kurenai-sensei **AND **imply that she was inferior because she was a woman.

Half of the ANBU members just stood there, but when Hinata looked at them closely, she could see their shoulder slightly shaking with laughter. But who were they laughing at, Kiba-kun or Kurenai-sensei?

The other half, the half that Hinata realized were female, were shaking with rage. It seemed that they didn't appreciate Kiba insulting females.

Kiba was still caught up in his rant. He realized that he had insulted his sensei, but he had to make his point. "Kurenai-sensei, you're a woman, and as such you have no sense of money. It's a fact, everybody knows that you let men handle the money otherwise you'll lose all your money. Look, I know what I'm talking about. Let's take these fools back to Konoha, and we'll split the money. You can use it to buy a nice dress or something and then go on a nice date with Asuma-sensei, Shino can use his share to…I dunno go to a bar or something, and I'll use my share to bring Hinata-chan on a nice date! How's that sou-"

Instantly, Sai was behind Kiba holding two swords, one across his neck and the other pointed towards his family jewels. "I've heard enough out of you! You should realize that women can be just as powerful as men, if not more! Hokage-sama is a woman, would you like me to write down everything you said in the mission report and turn it in to her?"

Kiba paled. In his rant, he had forgotten that the Hokage was female. He decided that the only way to get free was to show the woman who was boss!

"Bah, like the old hag could do anything to me. She's drunk all the time I bet you she sells herself on the street for money to get sake!" Kiba started laughing at his joke, but he before he could finish laughing, he was thrown into a tree. As he looked for who had thrown him, he saw Tokage walking towards him.

"Don't you _ever_ talk like that about Hokage-sama! If you do, I'll kill you!"

Kiba was about to yell at the fake ANBU for throwing an injured shinobi, but he suddenly felt cold all over. _'This feeling…is this killing intent?! It's so powerful, I've never felt anything as strong as this!'_ He looked for the source and realized that it was coming from the so called leader of the rainbow group.

"You would do well to heed Tokage-chan's advice Inuzuka-san. Talk like that could be considered treason. You would be sent for a session with Morino-san. Before that though…you would have to undergo a session with me. And trust me you don't want to do that. Hokage-sama is one of the people that I hold in extremely high regard, and as such I have killed others for much less than what you have just done."

Suddenly, Kiba could move again. He could feel the warmth spreading throughout his body. Just as quickly as his courage left, it returned. _'What a pussy, he didn't even kill me when he had the chance! If I could use my chakra, I would kill him!'_

"You're letting him off to easy Commander."

"Maybe I am Ookami-chan, maybe I am. However, we need to go. Kurenai-san, I believe you have a scroll that belonged to Orochimaru?"

"H-how did you know?"

"You have not been the only team spying on Oto. We were preparing to launch an attack on one of the outposts when they received word that a scroll of vital importance had been stolen and all shinobi were required to set forth and find it. My squad and I decided to follow one group that happened to lead to you."

"What do you want with the scroll?"

"The same thing you want. I will have my fastest member, Jaga-kun, deliver it to Konoha. He can get there in under an hour while I believe it would take two hours for your team to deliver it in their prime. As they are now…I believe it would take close to three hours. Hokage-sama must receive the scroll; Orochimaru must not be allowed to regain possession of it."

"Very well, here you go," Kurenai said before handing the scroll to the Fenikkusu.

"I appreciate your cooperation," he said before making a hand sign causing Jaga to jump down from the branches.

Before Jaga could leave, he was interrupted by Kiba.

"Wait a second! Why are you letting them take it?!"

"Kiba, I've had enough of your outbursts! We will take about this when we are back in Konoha…along with your punishment for your insubordination!"

"Kurenai-sensei, you don't understand! Even if they are actual ANBU, we won't get credit or the bonus for bringing that scroll in!"

"Don't worry about it Mutt-boy. You and your team will get the credit and the bonus for bringing the scroll in. I'll deliver it so fast that the only person that'll see me bring it in will be Hokage-sama. Hell, even the gate guards won't know that I entered! I'm speedy man!" Jaga was practically jumping up and down in anticipation for the journey that was just about to begin.

"Shut up! How can we trust you?! For all I know, you could take half of the bonus and none of us would know!"

"I've had enough of you're rant boy! Prepare for a world of pain!" Ookami said as she reached behind her back. Kiba tensed; he hated when his opponents did this, he never knew what type of weapon would be brought out. He laughed when he saw what she pulled out.

"A bow?! Are you serious?! Only bandits and villagers use bows! Even Academy students know better than that, they use kunai and shuriken instead of b-" Kiba's sentence was cut off as he jumped back, in order to avoid the arrow that landed where his foot was just a second ago.

"Are you crazy?! That almost hit me you idiot!"

"That was the point fool! Prepare yourself!" As Ookami raised her bow to let loose another arrow, Fenikkusu stepped in between Kiba and Ookami.

"That's enough. We will not kill any Konoha shinobi."

"But Commander, you heard what he said, about woman and Hokagae-sama! He can't be allowed to live with what he said!"

"We will not kill a Konoha shinobi unless said shinobi is a nuke-nin, do you understand?"

"This has gone on for long enough. I'm tired of listening to you! I challenge you for your position as Commander of the Kuro Mizu!"

Fenikkusu froze. "Insubordination? About time, I have been waiting for this moment for quite a while now. Well then, prepare yourself for battle!"

-----------------------------------------

Hinata froze. Sure she had seen teammates argue before and even engage in scuffles, but she had never seen anybody, much less an ANBU, challenge the leader for their position. She didn't know what to do.

Kurenai and Shino were just as stunned as Hinata was. To join ANBU, one had to be extremely close to one's teammate; one requirement was that commands had to be issued and followed by using only body language. Neither knew what to do.

Kiba was the only member of Team Eight that was excited. 'A fight is perfect! After one is killed, I'll go in and finish the survivor! I'll have to be promoted for that!'

Fenikkusu gathered a large amount of chakra while Ookami pointed her bow at him. Hinata wondered why Ookami hadn't drawn an arrow…for that fact she didn't see a quiver anywhere. Was it under her cloak?

Suddenly, Ookami turned around and fired an arrow into the distance.

"Hah, what a typical woman. No sense of direction. In case you didn't know, you missed your target!" Kiba was overjoyed. He had finally seen one of the ANBU members make a mistake.

Fenikkusu raised his right hand, made a fist, and brought his arm down so that it pointed towards where the arrow had gone. Instantly, all six ANBU members were gone.

"The hell is going on?!" Kiba shouted, "I wanted to see a fight!"

Suddenly, Jaga came running back into the clearing. "Oi, you lot, stay right here, okay? We'll be back in a jiffy…or at least I will! The rest of my squad will probably be back in three jiffies. Actually, Commander, that's Fenikkusu-san to you, will be back in one and a half jiffies, he's pretty fast. Of couse, he's not as fast as me, but then again, who is? Well, I gotta get going. See you in a jiffy!" That being said, Jaga turned around and went back towards the area he had originally left for.

"Jaga-san…is a truly peculiar individual," Shino stated.

The others could only nod in agreement with him.

"Ano…w-what and h-how l-l-long is a 'j-j-iffy'?" Hinata asked.

"Hinata-chan, a 'jiffy' is…Actually, I don't know how long a 'jiffy' is. Why don't we ask Jaga-san when he comes back?" stated Kurenai who was just as confused as her students in regards to a 'jiffy'.

-------------------------------

Roughly five minutes later, Jaga came back to the clearing where he had left Team Eight. "Well, finished what we had to do. If you're lucky, maybe the Big Cheese will let you see the trophy we got!"

Fenikkusu dropped out of a tree and hit Jaga on the head. "Jaga-kun, if you don't shut your mouth we might as well tell them all about our squad! What part of 'discretion' didn't you understand?"

Jaga rubbed his head with his right hand. "Damn Commander that really hurt! With all that we're doing, it's only a matter of time before people find out about us! Where's the harm in letting these little Chuunins and Jounin know what we do? Besides, they'll go and tell all of their friends about us and the legend of Kuro Mizu will grow! Who knows, maybe we'll get action figures made of us!"

At this point, Fenikkusu was thinking of what Jaga had just said. _'Hmmm, action figures would be nice. I wonder how much of a profit we would get from the sales. But it would be weird to walk down the street and see kids playing with me…' _He was brought out of his thoughts as he heard Jaga continue.

"I can see it now, parents all over rushing to the stores to buy actions figures of the twelve members of Kuro Mizu for their kids for Christmas…only to be disappointed as they realize that their children's favorite member, The Speedy Jaga-sama, is sold out. They start imagining the disappointed look on their children's face when they have to play with the strict old Fenikkusu or the blood thirsty Sai or any other uncool member of Kuro Mizu!" Jaga started nodding his head as he agreed with himself.

Fenikkusu just stared at Jaga. "You? Since when have you ever been called 'The Speedy Jaga-sama'?"

Jaga just scratched the back of his head. "Eh…about an eighth of a jiffy a go! But hey, who really cares about _when_ I got my nickname huh? All that matters is how cool it sounds and the sales…and the women. Man, women will flock to me once I get an action figure made!"

Kiba fumed. Why did this nutcase get to talk about women and get away with it when he couldn't?! He turned to look at Kurenai-sensei and Hinata-chan to see their reactions. To his surprise, they were both smiling and shaking their heads.

"Before you ask that question, you should know that we let Jaga-kun get away with it because he is joking. It's true that he's a ladies man and that he goes to bed with a different woman every week, but he _respects_ woman. You could take a lesson from him about respecting the opposite gender…as well as lessons in other things," stated Ookami as she walked into the clearing, still holding her bow in her left hand.

Jaga started sputtering. "H-hey, you take that back!"

"What?" Ookami was confused, which part did he not like?

"The part about me going to bed with a different woman every week!"

"It's not true?" _'Maybe…just maybe he finally started to grow up and mature a bit…Kami-sama, if he's as mature as I hope he is then I wouldn't mind dating him!'_

"Of course it's not true!" Ookami started to smile, though no one could see. Her smile disappeared after she heard what he said next. "Do you think I'm a Genin? Sheesh, going to bed with a different woman every week. I got to bed with a different woman every _two days_, got it?!"

Ookami's right eye started to twitch, though no one could see it. She started to raise her bow, but was stopped when Fenikkusu spoke up.

"Stow it, save your lover's quarrel for later, I'll even buy you guys a room," Jaga and Ookami started sputtering loud for everyone to hear. "Get ready to leave, the others are on their way now."

Jaga turned to look at the members of Team Eight.

"See? I told you I would be back in a jiffy, Commander would be back in one and a half jiffies, and the others in three jiffies. Well, I guess Ookami-chan got back in _two_ jiffies, but who's counting?"

"Ano…Jaga-san, w-what i-is a 'j-jiffy'?" asked Hinata.

"Ah, a fine question coming from a fine lady such as yourself," Jaga stated, earning him a blush from the Hyuuga. Kiba started to growl. How dare that imposter make a move on his Hinata-chan!

"Aah, excuse me I didn't know you two were lovers! In fact, I thought quite the opposite considering the signs! Tell me Hyuuga-san, how long have you two been dating?"

"Ano…w-we a-aren't d-d-dating."

"Hmm…hear that Mutt? You two aren't dating! Now take a hint, and leave the poor girl alone! Sheesh, if I had a stalker like you for a teammate, I would ask to be transferred to another team! Have you tried that yet?" receiving a shake of her head as an answer, Jaga continued. "Well, I guess you're right. After all, at least when you're on the same team you get the chance to beat his head in during spars, eh?"

Kurenai just stared at the talkative ANBU member. She had never seen an ANBU that was so talkative before. Normally most ANBU were silent and serious, which was understandable due to the nature of their job. Kurenai didn't even want to think of how she would act if she was forced to kill on a daily basis. Before he could get distracted by another topic, she decided to ask him to answer Hinata's question.

"Ano Jaga-san, if you don't mind, would you kindly answer the question?"

Fenikkusu and Ookami's shoulders shook with barely restrained mirth, though Shino was the only one who noticed. The other three members of his team were busy staring at Jaga, waiting for his answer.

"Hmm…well you see, that's kinda hard to explain. A jiffy is…well, it's as short or as long as I want it to be!"

All the members of Team Eight had to face-fault while Fenikkusu and Ookami just shooke their heads in amusement.

--------------------------------------------

Just a minute later, the rest of the ANBU members arrived. However, this time there were six additional members, all wearing different colored cloaks, all with their hoods on.

If Hinata was correct, then this squad consisted of twelve shinobi; regular squads were usually made up of four shinobi. This squad could've been created this large just for one mission, but she doubted that because all the shinobi were acting like one large unit, not like three squads just put together. For some reason, some of the regular ANBU rules didn't seem to apply to this squad, such as the size of the squad and the color of the cloaks.

"Damn, so this really is the rainbow squad!" Kiba shouted. He was beyond pissed. There were twelve of these freaks now.

"This is the fool you were talking about Tokage-chan?" asked an ANBU wearing a dragon mask.

"Hai," came the simple reply from the iryo-nin.

"Okay, enough chit-chat we need to get back to Konoha twice as fast now that we have…additional items that Hokage-sama needs to have," stated Fenikkusu. "The original plan still stands, but we will add on to it. Jaga-kun, you're taking both scrolls now," as he said that, he handed Jaga two scrolls. One scroll was the one that Kurenai had given him, and the other was a new one.

Before he could continue giving out his orders, an explosion went off in the distance. All the ANBU members looked at their leader awaiting his orders while Team Eight tried to judge where the explosion came from.

"East…three and a half miles. Two of them," Fenikkusu calmly stated.

"Kuso, who do you think they are?" questioned an ANBU with an elephant mask.

"I have a guess Zou-kun (elephant), but this means we have to change our plan. We can't leave Team Eight or the Jounin we rescued here. They need to be taken back to Konoha before the fighting starts. We will split up into two groups."

Kiba was about to protest that order. He didn't want to be sent back to Konoha when he could fight. He would show them all how great of a fighter Inuzuka Kiba was! Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Saru came behind him and punched him into a tree.

"Saru-kun, you could've just hit a pressure point," stated Fenikkusu.

"Ya, but this was so much more fun. Besides, this way, he'll stay unconscious for the entire ride back to Konoha," Saru stated in order to defend his actions.

"True, but now he's dead weight. Since the two intruders aren't the ones that I would like to have Jaga-kun and you fight, you get to carry Inuzuka-san. Congratulations!"

Saru just muttered under his breathe about how unfair it was that he had to carry a mutt when he had done everyone a favor. Fenikkusu smiled before getting serious once more.

"Don't worry, Inuzuka-san is not the only member of Team Eight that will be carried. In fact, all members of Team Eight will be carried," Fenikkusu stated. He could tell that Team Eight's sensei was about to speak up, so he cut her off. "Yuuhi-san, I am in no ways implying that your team is too weak after that skirmish to return to Konoha, but it is imperative that you and your team make it to the safety of Konoha as quickly as possible. The opponents we are about to face are extremely deadly and ruthless. Should we fail to defeat them, then I have no doubt that you and your team will be killed. Therefore, I will delegate half of my squad to ensure the safety of your team."

He could tell that she still wanted to argue, so he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "No doubt you are wondering why you must run and why I am afraid of only two men correct?" Receiving a small nod in affirmative, he continued, "These two are members of Akatsuki. Could your team stand against the power of two S-Ranked nuke-nins?" Seeing her pale, Fenikkusu decided that he had her convinced.

"Right, back to business. Saru-kun you're carrying Inuzuka-san…and you're strong enough to carry his ninken right? Anyways, just tie him to your back or something, it doesn't really matter, just as long as you carry him. Wani-chan (crocodile) you're carrying Yuuhi-san, Feretto-chan (ferret) you're carrying Hyuuga-san, Tora-kun (tiger) you're carrying Aburame-san, Fukuro-chan (owl) you're carrying the Jounin we rescued, and Jaga-kun you're carrying the scrolls. Doragon-kun (dragon) you're the back up for those carrying the members of Team Eight. If you come across any hostiles, feel free to use your full power and any ninjutsu you choose. Just remember, your teammates are in the vicinity, and they are carrying exhausted and wounded Konoha Shinobi!"

Doragon started shaking with delight. _ 'It's been a while since the Commander has let me use my full power…which element should I use? Katon is the most destructive, but I might hit a tree that one of my teammates is on…guess I'll stick with Raiton, and if that doesn't work then I'll use Doton, and if that doesn't work then I'll use Suiton. I'm not in the mood to use Fuuton.' _Doragon managed to make his decision just in time to hear the rest of Fenikkusu's commands.

"Jaga-kun you are to travel so you are visible to at least one other teammate. As soon as you can see Konoha, give some sort of signal to let the others know before dropping your weights and getting to Konoha as fast as possible. I don't care if you jump over the gates… in fact, I _want_ you to jump over the gates in order to deliver the scrolls to Hokage-sama as fast as possible. Make sure that you tell her that your teammates are transporting injured Konoha shinobi though Tokage-chan healed them as well as she could, given the time restraints. After that, alert the gate guards to be on the lookout for possible hostile shinobi and tell the ANBU of the situation. Have them send reinforcements to help guard the members of Team Eight. Tell them where your teammates are before you leave them behind to assist Doragon-kun in the protection of Team Eight and the Jounin. Hopefully the other ANBU won't be needed, but it's always better to be on the safe side."

Jaga saluted Fenikkusu. "Hai Commander. Which route do you want me to take?"

"The scenic route of course. No, don't go on the scenic route, I'm just joking!"

"So am I Commander, so am I. You want the fastest route to Konoha right? Well, I just so happen to know a secret route that'll get them there in five jiffies!"

Shaking his head at the antics of his most hyper subordinate, Fenikkusu gave them one last order, "You have your commands, now go!"

Those that had been designated left for Konoha immediately, with Jaga leading the way.

Fenikkusu looked at his subordinates that had left for a second before turning back to face his remaining subordinates. "Right, we move to engage the enemy now. We'll split into two groups when we get there. I don't care who engages who, but Sai-chan and Ookami-chan, make sure that you two aren't in the same group. I want both groups to have one weapons user in it. Ready? Let's go!"

In the spot where the Kuro Mizu had once stood was nothing to indicate that anyone had ever been there.

--------------------------------

"A-ano… Feretto-san…w-will the r-r-rest of y-your s-s-squad b-be o-okay?"

"Ha, ha, don't worry about them! The Commander's with them, he won't let any of them get harmed."

"I hope you don't mind, but this 'Commander' of yours, what is he in command of?" asked Shino. He was the one member of his team who always gathered information, whether it was on a mission or not.

Tora decided to answer. "Well, you're nice and polite, not like that Inuzuka over there. As for your question…well, I would like to answer that, but the Commander would be pretty upset if I did answer. Sorry kiddo."

"Aahh, just tell them our purpose Tora-kun ol' buddy ol' pal!"

"No, you know the Commander's rule!"

"Bah, that rule is gonna be obsolete pretty soon!"

"May I ask why that is? Are you going to tell everyone?!"

"Nope, but pretty soon, all the elemental nations will know about us. How long do you think we can keep what we do a secret? And I'm not talking about our most recent missions, I'm talking about the two that take priority over all other missions!"

"For once Jaga-kun has a point," stated Fukuro.

"Before we start deciding to give out points, I'd like to know what you're doing back here Jaga!" scolded Wani.

"Bah, don't worry about me, I'm still running up ahead! I'm just a Kage Bunshin!" Jaga happily stated.

'_Kage Bunshin? That's a B-rank kinjutsu! Just who are these guys to have clearance to learn kinjutsu?'_ wondered Kurenai.

"Fine, I'll let you do the honors Jaga-kun. But only our Alpha-priority mission, not the Beta or Delta one. Also, no telling of…heritage," warned Wani.

'_Three high priority missions assigned to one ANBU squad? Just who are they?' _wondered the conscious members of Team Eight.

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! Can you see it? This is the start! After we tell this team, everybody in Konoha will know of the legendary Kuro Mizu!"

"Calm down Jaga-kun! You baka, you just told them our name! Furthermore, I doubt that Hokage-sama will let them tell anyone about us…at least, not yet," reprimanded Wani.

Jaga visibly deflated when he realized that she was telling the truth. "Bah, spoilsport! But the name doesn't matter, 'cuz those two," he stated, pointing towards Hinata and Kiba, "Heard that Oto-shinobi that the Commander took care of call us Kuro Mizu. Now that I think of it, they also heard him call the Commander Konoha's Shikyo no Fenikkusu! What a name…how come I don't have one like that?"

"Because fool, you haven't killed a fourth of many people as the Commander has. Therefore, none of the hidden villages know much about you," Doragon explained.

"What! But everybody loves me, I'm the favorite member of Kuro Mizu 'cuz I'm the cute one!"

Wani snorted. "Cute one huh? Even if you were, no one would know! You're wearing a mask baka!"

"Oh…oh ya. Guess you're right huh, Captain? Well…I'm the fastest one, chicks dig the fast ones. You know, because they see move that fast during battle then they start wondering, 'How fast can he go in bed?' Yup, that's why everyone will know of me."

"You really are a fool, aren't you? Tell me, in the battles that we have fought in, what is your style?"

"Well Doragon-kun, my extremely destructive friend, I'm…a flash! I'm here one second, then over there another second slicing that mans throat, then I'm over yonder stabbing someone else in the heart, then…I'm out of words to use for different locations! Well, you get my point."

"Indeed I do my foolish friend. The truth is…you're too fast for any enemy shinobi to see! How the hell are they supposed to fear you when they don't even know you're there?"

"Hmm…guess your right. Wait! You're wrong! How the hell did Yondaime-sama get his name as Konoha's Yellow Flash?! No one could see him when he was using his Hirashin no Jutsu!"

"Before and after he used the Hirashin no Jutsu, he was clearly visible. You on the other hand, are visible only when you stop moving. Face it, the only time you stop moving is when our objective is complete. By then, any survivors that have run to tell others of their plight didn't have a time to see you. That's why you aren't in any Bingo Books," Doragon calmly explained.

"N-not in a-any B-bingo Books? Kuso! How the hell could they leave the most important member of Kuro Mizu out! Tell me…you gotta tell me, who has the highest bounty on their head?"

"Who do you think? The Commander of course! He's the only one of us listed as S-Rank, flee on sight. Well, in the Oto Bingo Book he's listed as kill on sight. Guess Orochimaru really hates him, huh? Anyways, his bounty is at least twice as much as Jiraiya-sama's is," lectured Wani.

The members of Team Eight were all surprised. A bounty twice the size of Jiraiya-sama's, one of the Sannin? Unheard of!

"B-but w-what d-d-did Fenikkusu-san do t-to h-h-have s-such a h-huge b-bounty placed on his head?" questioned Hinata.

"Well my pretty little Hyuuga friend, a better question would be, 'What didn't he do?' He makes us take missions that would be suicide for any other team. In fact, I can distinctly remember Hokage-sama calling our actions, 'Brave, foolish, and reckless!' Of course the Commander didn't like that, so he told her 'No, it's called perilous!' To be honest, I think that the Commander just used that word so next time Hokage-sama could save her breathe and just yell at us for being 'perilous' instead of those other words. On the other hand, 'perilous' sounds pretty cool, and women dig cool words like that. Hmm, maybe I should make my name 'The Perilous Jaga-sama. Ya, that sounds pretty cool."

"You like to talk don't you Jaga-san?"

"Of course my dear crimson-eyed hime! Talking is wonderful. It's Kami-sama's gift to men! Well…on second thought, I think sake (rice wine) is…no, women are Kami-sama's gift to men!"

"Right, well before you start ranting again, can you tell us what your Alpha-priority mission is?"

"Huh? Oh ya, right, Captain gave me permission to tell you, I almost forgot!" Everyone sweat dropped upon hearing that.

"Well..our Alpha-priority mission…is a secret!"

The conscious members of Team Eight would've face-faulted if they had not been carried. The other ANBU members started laughing as they saw the look on their faces.

"Ha,ha,ha, you should've seen your faces! It is a secret, but not anymore 'cuz I got permission to tell you. Before you go blabbing your mouths though, ask Hokage-sama whether you and tell anyone else about it, understood?"

Hinata, Shino, and Kurenai all awaited eagerly.

"Well…our Alpha-priority mission is…the utter and complete destruction of the menace known to the elemental countries as…Akatsuki!"

The members of Team Eight were stunned. Sure they knew that a group had been set aside to find the Akatsuki members, but a group charged with killing the members? Unheard of!

"If Hokage-sama gave you that task then you must all be incredibly powerful," Shino stated calmly, even though he was just as shocked as the others.

"Yup! We all specialize in certain things. I specialize in speed, Doragon-kun here is our heavy combat specialist…and well, I better stop before the good ol' Captain comes and cuts me to ribbons! I'll see you all in seven jiffies…or at least the real me will!" That being said, the Kage Bunshin dispelled itself.

"Kuso…the pudding-headed fool! Sometimes I swear he has no brain! You, none of you are to speak of what Jaga-baka and Doragon-kun specialize in, you hear me?" Wani stated in a cold voice.

Thoroughly intimidated by Wani, the conscious members of Team Eight started looking anywhere but at the furious ANBU Captain. Kurenai tried to catch a glimpse of the Jounin who was rescued by the Kuro Mizu. She wanted to see if she knew who the kunoichi was. Much to her surprise and anger, she did.

---------------------------------------

"Shizune-chan! You're the one that was rescued?! Are you alright? What happened? Those bandits didn't hurt you, did they? The last I heard, you were on a long term mission," inquired Kurenai.

"Nice to see you too, Kurenai-chan," Shizune stated in between chuckles. She loved how her friend cared so much for her precious people. "Well, I guess I should start by telling you what my assignment was."

"I was assigned to follow a Genin team that was given a D-rank delivery mission to a town near the border of Konoha and Oto because Tsunade-sama wanted me to pick some herbs that grew near that town. The delivery was made without any problems and the villagers were friendly so we decided to stay there for another day so I could pick more herbs. I picked enough herbs to last for a few months so we decided to leave the next day. About three hours after we left, we were ambushed," at this point in her story, Shizune paused to wipe her tears as she remembered what had happened.

"We were ambushed by thirty bandits. Well, at first we thought they were bandits, but they were far too skilled to be bandits. Once we realized that they were shinobi, the Jounin sensei and I tried to cover the Genin while they ran back towards the village. As they were running, they were ambushed by ten shinobi. When I realized what had happened, I went to assist them, but it was too late. They didn't go down without a fight though they took down six of them. I'm still not sure how they managed to do it. Anyways, after I finished those shinobi, I went back to help the other Jounin."

"For a while, we were doing pretty well, considering how badly outnumbered we were. Then, some of them started to use their cursed seals. A few of them even went to level two. At that point, we both knew that we had no chance to survive so we started to fight recklessly, and banished any thoughts that we had of conserving chakra to use on our return trip to Konoha."

"After we started to fight recklessly, I have some trouble remembering what happened. I know that the other Jounin was killed by some sort of spikes, and then I think someone hit me from behind because I blacked out. When I came to, I was tied up in a tent; I tried to break free, but I was bound too tightly. I passed in and out of consciousness for days. They forced food and water down my throat whenever I was conscious. I always tried to break free no matter how tired I was after they told me why they were nursing me back to health; they wanted me to be in perfect condition before they had some fun with me," Shizune shuddered as she recalled that particular memory.

"Then one day came when one of my captors told me that the entire camp was going to have their way with me that night. I was frightened out of my mind. I was about to fight back and try to break free, but they knocked me out again. When I came to, I think it was night because the fire in the tent was lit. I heard a lot of noises outside, and I started to fear the worse. I didn't know if they were working themselves into a frenzy before they raped me or if they were being assaulted by another group of shinobi. By this time, I had given up any hope of being found by a Konoha team; I had been missing for days and I didn't think that the shinobi that captured me were stupid enough to leave a trail."

"After five minutes, everything was silent. I could hear the fires outside crackling and the footsteps of several people walking around. When I saw the tent flap open up, I prayed that it wouldn't be a shinobi from a hostile village."

"Luckily, it was a Konoha ANBU that opened the tent, or to be more specific, Fenikkusu-san. I still remember what happened too, that's how relieved I was."

_**Begin Flashback**_

"You…who are you?" Shizune asked. The fire in the tent wasn't bright enough to illuminate the entrance of the tent, so she could only make out a shadowy figure.

"Don't worry Shizune-san, I am here to help you. Hokage-sama became very worried when she didn't hear from you, so she sent my ANBU squad out to find your whereabouts. It seems that we arrived just in time. Have they harmed you?"

"N-no, they haven't harmed me. They were going to r-rape me tonight, but I think you stopped them."

"Good. If they had raped your, then I would have to find a way to revive them and kill them in a much more painful and slow manner."

Shizune was surprised. Most ANBU didn't speak this much. In fact, she had heard more from this ANBU that she had from others when they were in a mission debriefing.

"Ano ANBU-san, may I know what your codename is?" she asked. She knew that she would be out of line to ask for the ANBU's real name seeing as most, if not all, ANBU members preferred to keep their identities separate.

"Yes you may Shizune-san. You may call me Fenikkusu."

"Phoenix? That fits...so that's what your mask is representing."

"Very observant of you. Few have been able to discern what my mask is. Now enough talk, let me free you," Fenikkusu stated before he walked forward and started to gently free her. Up close and in the firelight, Shizune could see Fenikkusu much more clearly. She gasped at what she saw. He was covered in blood, parts of his mask was stained red. Shizune was no fool, she knew that some of this wasn't his, but there was no way that none of it came from his own wounds!

"Fenikkusu-san, as soon as you free me, let me tend to your wounds! I haven't been able to use my chakra for anything, so I still have a full capacity!"

Fenikkusu chuckled, and Shizune was annoyed. Did he think that she was unable to heal anything after being tied up for days? Or was he laughing because a woman offered to help him? Just as she was about to ask him, he spoke up.

"Forgive my laughter Shizune-san, it's just that the willingness that you just showed to heal me never ceases to amaze me. I have always admired any iryo-nin**3** who heals anybody that is injured. I apologize if I have offended you. As for your medical assistance, it is not needed, for I am not wounded," after finishing his sentence, Fenikkusu freed Shizune and lifted her up.

"Forgive me for carrying you in such a manner when you can probably walk, but time is of the essence. A portion of the shinobi in this camp are missing, and I fear that they may have found another Konoha team," Fenikkusu finished before letting out a low whistle.

"Oh, and on another note, please close your eyes when we exit the tent. It is rather gruesome outside." Shizune decided to follow his advice. She was very lucky she did, for it seemed as though it had rained blood and body parts last night.

He headed for the trees and started running. Shizune noticed several other figures behind them; she figured that they were his squad mates.

"I don't mind, but please hurry! If those shinobi come across a Genin team, they'll slaughter them!"

"I know that, my squad and I came across the scene where I suppose you were captured. I have placed the bodies in a sealing scroll in order to give to their families."

Shizune's lips twisted upward into a slight smile. It wasn't everyday that one came across an ANBU that was still…human as this one was. She didn't blame the other detached ANBU members, after all, going on the missions that ANBU were sent on had a nasty habit of desensitizing someone. However, she still had one question.

"Are you sure that you aren't wounded? I mean, there's a lot of blood on you, and if you traveled in a squad I doubt that you would have all this blood on you."

"I did travel in a squad, but we split up in order to find the camp as fast as possible. Only one other member of my squad was with me when we attacked. As for the reason for having so much blood on me, we saw a portion of this camp leaving in order to recover a stolen item."

"We did not want to fight more opponents than we had to incase any captives, especially you, were harmed in a cross fire. Thus, we had to attack quickly and without alerting the roving shinobi. That meant that we couldn't use chakra, limiting our options. If we did use chakra, then one of the roving shinobi might have sensed our chakra and come investigate."

"Luckily, the teammate I was with specializes in kenjutsu, and I'm not half-bad with a sword, if I may say so myself. The result was rather bloody. That's why I have all this blood on me."

"Oh. Well, I just want to thank you and your teammate for saving me."

"Thanks are not necessary. We are just doing what we were ordered to do. Furthermore, it was the right thing to do."

Suddenly, Fenikkusu stopped on a branch and let Shizune down. He made a fist with his right hand and pointed it straight up in the air. Letting his arm down slowly, he formed a fist with his left hand, raised it in the air, and extended his middle and index fingers. Instantly, an ANBU with an owl mask appeared to his left.

"Fukuro-chan, take care of Shizune-san."

"Hai Commander. Shizune-san, if you would allow me," Fukuro stated before picking Shizune up and returning to her spot somewhere behind Fenikkusu.

Fenikkusu once again formed his left hand into a fist and extended his arm so that his fist was pointed directly in front of him. He formed his right hand into a fist and pointed it slightly behind him and to his right. Six of the ANBU, including Fukuro and Shizune, went to the area that Fenikkusu had pointed out with his left arm. Fenikkusu and the remaining ANBU members went towards the direction that he pointed it with his right arm.

_**End Flashback**_

"And that brings us to where we met you…well observed you in your case Kurenai-chan. We saw your fight and the ANBU didn't think you needed help so they stayed back. Once you were done, we followed you and stayed hidden while you saw the 'fight' between Ookami-san and Fenikkusu-san."

"When the squad had to go somewhere, Fukuro-san told me to stay hidden in a tree and I did. Then, I'm being carried back to Konoha along with your team!" Shizune finished.

Kurenai couldn't help herself; she was the sensei of a reconnaissance team, and she had to know more about this mysterious ANBU squad.

"So two members of Kuro Mizu were able to defeat an entire camp of who knows how many shinobi?" Upon seeing Shizune nod, she continued her questioning, "How strong are these guys?"

"Very strong," replied Tora. Kurenai was startled when Tora spoke up. The members of Kuro Mizu had been so quiet and her ride had been so smooth that she had forgotten that they were being carried by intelligent beings. Luckily, she was able to overcome her shock in order to hear the rest of Tora's response.

"You now know of our main mission. Do you really think that Hokage-sama would send out anyone but the best? Besides, you shouldn't really count those Oto-shinobi as real opponents; they were fools. The only things they had going for them were the element of surprise, superior numbers, and cursed seals. Take away the element of surprise, and they were significantly weaker."

"Ano…T-tora-san…t-the o-ones t-that Kiba-kun a-and I f-faced w-were r-r-rather strong," Hinata pointed out.

"Bah, that's because they surprised you. Furthermore, your teammate was a baka, I should know. I saw the entire battle, and you took on three times as many opponents as he did!" Saru stated. "If I counted correctly, then the fool took three soldier pills for all the good it did him. He did more damage to himself by overdosing on soldier pills than the Oto-shinobi did to him!"

Hinata started to blush as she saw the smile and approving look that Kurenai-sensei, Shino-kun, and Shizune-san sent towards her. However, she didn't want anyone to think that she was more powerful than she actually was.

"B-but…I w-w-was s-still d-d-defeated," Hinata tried to clarify.

"I suppose I misled you when I said that they shouldn't be counted as real opponents. What I meant was that they shouldn't be counted as real opponents for anyone Jounin or higher," clarified Tora. "Look at the rest of your team, they didn't encounter nearly as much trouble as you two did because they had an experience Jounin, your sensei, with them."

"Don't take what Tora-kun said the wrong way-you're not weak, far from it. If I had to rank you, I would say that you're a Tokubetsu Jounin since I didn't see you use any ninjutsu, I assume that you don't know that many outside of the ones taught at the Academy," Saru stated.

Hinata was about to apologize for being a useless shinobi. If she had spent more time learning more ninjutsu instead of focusing on Juuken, then maybe she wouldn't have had to be saved by the Kuro Mizu!

"I can see that you're about to apologize for something. Don't! It's not your fault at all! Most Hyuuga have trouble getting past the rank of Tokubetsu Jounin since they think their style is perfect. Some even refuse to learn more techniques, so they can't be promoted to anything higher. You're different though…you seem to be willing to branch out into other areas. That's good. When you become the head of your clan, hopefully you can change the attitude of all the other Hyuugas!" finished Saru with a statement.

Hinata was embarrassed. Here was a total stranger, complimenting her on her skills. Furthermore, he seemed to actually believe that she would become the head of her clan! About half of her clan still didn't think she was fit to lead the clan, including the Hyuuga Council. Luckily, her father didn't seem to think that she was worthless anymore. In fact, he _wanted_ her to become the head now. How strange it was that a total stranger backed her up while some of her own family didn't.

"Look alive people, Jaga-baka just signaled! Doragon-kun, I want you to be extra alert now that we have one less person on the look-out!" Wani shouted out. It was very obvious that she was still mad at Jaga for revealing a bit too much information.

Shino was very surprised even though he didn't show it. _ 'Amazing, we are already near Konoha…I didn't even realize how fast we were traveling. This squad…Kuro Mizu…they really are powerful.'_

------------------------------------------

Jaga was nearing Konoha. _'Gotta remember to pick up my weights, they cost me a fortune! Hmm, how should I get in? Should I run up the gate or jump over it? Let's see how well trained these gate guards are!'_

When Jaga was ten yards away he stopped and threw a smoke bomb to the left of his position. They landed about ten feet away from the left side of the main gate to Konoha. When the smoke was released into the air, he was on the move again.

'_What a bunch of bakas!'_ thought Jaga as he saw both gate guards walk over to get a better view of the smoke. _ 'I wonder why they thought that leaving a blind spot was a good idea. Oh well, I'll tell the Commander and he'll tell Hokage-sama. If I told Hokage-sama, then I would be stuck writing up a report, and that takes time!'_

Before the smoke dissipated, Jaga had already reached the gate and ran up and over it.

Scratching his head, one gate guard asked the other, "Did you see anything?"

"Nope."

Turning back to look around at the area surrounding the gate, the first gate guard replied, "Neither did I. Bet you some Genin was fooling around with a smoke bomb and accidentally lobbed it over the wall.

-------------------------------------

"Jaga-kun is on his way back. He's coming in fast, I don't think he has his weights on," Doragon stated in his slow voice.

"Good, that means that more ANBU will be coming in soon to act as support," Wani stated in an imperative tone.

"Oi, did you pretty ladies miss me? Don't worry, I did everything the Commander told me to…I think," came the jolly voice of Jaga.

"What do you mean you think you did everything the Commander told you to do? He gave you explicit directions! You better wish that you did everything, otherwise you'll be going to be alone for a month!" shouted Wani.

"Calm down! I was just joking Captain. Of course I did everything he told me to. I even took the time to order the sake for us! No, no, no, don't look at me like that!" How he could tell how Wani was looking at him was beyond anyone's ideas. "I didn't order any sake…yet. You think I would order something using our account without asking the Commander for permission? Sheesh, have some faith in me would ya my ol' anger-prone Captain!"

Kurenai had to shake her head at the Jaga's antics. Forget what she had said about seeing any ANBU act like him, she had never seen any shinobi act like him. Well, she had seen Uzumaki Naruto act like him…in fact, now that she thought of it, their personalities _were_ rather similar.

Both were extremely energetic and could talk a mile a minute and change the topic of any conversation at any moment. But could Naruto really be in ANBU? Ever since Tsunade-sama had become Hokage, the bar for joining ANBU became much higher. But then again, Naruto _had_ been trained by Jiraiya-sama. If he was in ANBU, it would explain a lot about Naruto's recent absences. True training missions were believable given his condition, but being in ANBU would also explain his absences.

Kurenai quickly stopped her train of thought. It wouldn't do to pry into the identities of any ANBU member. They wore a mask and kept their identity a secret for a reason. This squad though, Kuro Mizu, seemed to be even more intent on keeping their identities a secret. She had never seen any ANBU squad keep their hoods up for a whole mission, even when running through the trees at a very high speed or in a battle. In fact they must be applying minuscule amounts of chakra to their hair in order to keep their hoods on. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard Jaga speak up…again.

Honestly, it seemed as though he never shut up. She was glad she wasn't his Jounin sensei when he as a Genin. After spending less than a day with the energetic shinobi, she had new found respect for Hatake Kakashi. How had he managed to remain relatively sane when he had Naruto as a subordinate?

"Hah, we'll be in Konoha in ten jiffies. We didn't even need the extra ANBU that I had to go get. We basically got a safe ride back home people, there's no way we could be attacked now!"

"Zankuuha!**4**" Suddenly, trees all around the Konoha shinobi started falling, as if they were cut by an invisible force.

"Katon: Karyuu Endan!**5**" All the trees that had fallen to the ground were ignited. Whoever had used the ninjutsu must have used more chakra than necessary because the Konoha shinobi could feel the heat roughly forty feet above it.

"Surrender now and return what you have stolen and Orochimaru-sama may have mercy and grant you a quick death!" yelled an Oto-shinobi as he stepped forward.

"Surrender? I don't think so buddy. How about you put out those fires and let us go?"

The Oto-shinobi just stared at Jaga. "You refuse to surrender eh? I guess that means that you all have to die!" When he finished his sentence, nine other Oto-shinobi came out. All of them activated their cursed seals and bypassed level one completely, going straight to level two.

"What, are you guys part of a circus act? I haven't seen a variety of this many animals since the last time the circus was in town. Before you go and kill us, answer me this. Are you part of the animal act or the freak show?" came Jaga's reply.

"Grrr…I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart fool!"

While the banter was going on, Wani used the time that Jaga was buying for them to figure out their next move.

'_Kuso, we're trapped in these trees. All the trees close enough to jump to have been cut down by the first attack. And we can't go down and run across the ground because the fallen trees are on fire. We could survive the flames due to our cloaks, but we can't cover both ourselves and our passengers with it. If it comes to it, we could put down Team Eight and Shizune-san, but we would have to protect them in addition to attack the Oto-shinobi. This is not good, we're in for a long fight…unless he hurries his ass up!'_

"Rairyuu no Tatsumaki**6**," said a low voice.

A vortex of both lightning and wind seemed to appear out of nowhere and took the form of a massive dragon. The dragon took advantage of the Oto-shinobi's surprise to wipe out eight of them. The two that managed to avoid the initial attack ran away in fear.

One managed to just dodge being consumed by the raging dragon. Just as the dragon passed by him, a bolt of lightning struck him in the face, effectively leaving a headless corpse.

The remaining shinobi was still running when he saw an ANBU with a dragon mask right in front of him. He froze. If this one guy was the one who wiped out his entire squad, then he stood no chance.

Before he could speak in an attempt to persuade the ANBU to let him live, he saw the dragon that had devoured his squad come to a rest beside the ANBU.

"Any last words?" the ANBU stated in a bored voice. Just as he was about to speak, the ANBU beat him to it. "Good, because I wouldn't have listened if you had." That being said, the dragon opened its mouth and a lighting bolt shot out, heading straight for his head.

The Oto-shinobi had the sense to dodge when he saw the dragon open its mouth. He had seen his subordinate's head…dissolve? Blow up? He didn't really know what happened to it, all he knew was that he had to avoid the lightning bolt, and the only way to avoid Raiton ninjutsus was to dodge before the attack was released. With that in mind, he ducked just before the lightning bolt was formed.

'_Strange…why is the lightning bolt still going? Oh well, I'm not complaining.'_ "Ha ha ha, you missed me stupid bakaaahh!" A giant explosion made the Oto-shinobi's sentence all the more expressive.

'_Huh? A giant splinter in me? That can't be good…'_ the Oto-shinobi thought before dying. The last attacking shinobi had been killed by wood. When the lightning bolt 'missed' him, it had hit the tree directly behind him. By forcing enough power into his lightning bolt and sustaining it for a sufficient amount of time, the dragon was able to cause the tree to explode.

When it exploded, 'splinters' which would properly be classified as lumber, impaled the Oto-shinobi like a human pincushion. It wasn't pretty; there so many pieces of wood in the shinobi that it was hard to tell that he had once been human. If Doragon didn't know better, he would've thought that he had just defeated a Mokuton Bunshin.

With a snap of his fingers, the lightning dragon dissipated. He didn't have time to relish in all the destruction that he had been able to cause. There would be time for that later. Now, he had to save his teammates before they were burned to death. If he let them die because he was revealing in the destruction he caused, The Commander would be very angry. Angry enough to never let him go full out again.

Rushing towards his trapped teammates, he quickly, he started on a set of seals. "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu**7**," he stated in his ever calm voice. A giant wave of water formed in front of him and gushed down to smother the flames. Once the fires were gone, his teammates jumped down from the trees.

"Oi, what took you so long? I bet you sat on your ass and spent like ten jiffies just deciding what element to use, then you probably spent another ten jiffies deciding which jutsu to use to cause the most destruction! You know how mad the ladies of Konoha would be at you if you let my beauty become marred with burn scars?!"

"For your information impudent squirrel, I did not sit idly around…I already picked out which element to use when the Commander was giving us our orders," Doragon replied in his ever calm tone.

Sensing that Jaga was about to speak once more, Wani spoke first. "What Jaga-baka means to say is 'Thank you, I owe you my life and I am forever in your debt for being such a baka". Everyone else here thanks you as well, but you'll have to do with Jaga-baka being the only one in your debt."

Jaga started staggering around in mock pain, with his right hand over his heart. _ 'I could flirt with the crimson-eyed hime, but last I checked she was still dating Sarutobi…uh…Wind-knives dude. Or I could flirt with the beautiful Hyuuga.' _

'_The only problem is that she's the heiress! If I make a wrong move, I'm done for, I doubt even the Commander could save me from the entire Hyuuga clan's wrath. Bbbbuuuuuttttt….if I do flirt with her, then Mutt-boy would be pissed. That would be fun…is he even awake? Let's see…eyes fluttering, yup he's coming too! Since no one else in Kuro Mizu is brave enough to accept this quadruple S-ranked mission, then I will gallantly step forward! Operation: Piss Off Mutt-boy commence.' _ With his thoughts done, he managed to stagger towards Hinata.

Grabbing hold of Hinata's right hands with both of his, Jaga started speaking in a serious voice. "Oh, can you see what a cruel life I have to lead? They see a squad is like family, and if that's true then see what a terrible family I am stuck with? There is only one way I can escape from this endless cycle of hate. Hyuuga-san, will you help me? Please, I beg of you, I wish to be free of these chains and this cage that my so-called family used on me."

Hinata turned a faint shade of red. Someone needed _her_? Why would he pick _her_ out of everyone here to help him?

Her eyes shone with compassion. She too knew what it was like to be unwanted in a family. She had spent close to thirteen years of her life living like that. It was terrible. If she could save anyone from a fate of what she had to endure, then she would do whatever she could.

"W-what d-do y-y-ou need m-me to d-do?" she tried to confidently ask.

'_Don't tell me he's trying this again…'_ were the thoughts of the members of Kuro Mizu.

"I need," he said dropping down to one knee, still holding her hand, "For you to marry me. Please, say you'll marry me!"

Hinata's face turned as red as a tomato. "M-m-marry?" she managed to stutter out.

Kiba's eyes snapped open as he heard the word 'marry'. He had been conscious for a while, but he had been pretending to still be unconscious; with any luck, Hinata would come by and check on him to see if he was in good health. He hadn't even realized he was being carried until he opened his eyes and noticed his position.

"Oi, you damn temes, Hinata-chan isn't marrying anyone!" _'Except for me!'_

"Hmmm…I see my conclusion was correct," Fukuro stated. Seeing the confused looks on the members of Team Eight and Shizune and the gestures that her teammates made when they were confused, she continued. "In this team, Inuzuka-san is the brash idiotic one. He will often rush in without thinking first. That is bound to lead his team into trouble. With the observations that I've made, I'm extremely surprised that he earned the rank of Chuunin, when he clearly does not display the required leadership qualities needed for a Chuunin."

Kiba bristled as he heard the ANBU's analysis of him. "Who the hell do you think you are? You can't say that I don't have leadership qualities; I'm going to be the head of the Inuzuka clan! Besides, you just met me; you don't know shit about me!"

"Actually, Mutt-boy…I'm getting tired of that name, you need a new name. I got it! From this day forth, you will be known as Retarded Puppy! Or at least until I get bored of it," Jaga cheekily replied.

"Back to my point, Fukuro-chan _can_ say that about you. She's really good at observing people and categorizing their skills and stuff like that. There's a ninety-nine point whole bunch of nines that she's right about your skills…or lack of."

"Oh and by the way? The marriage? I was just joking just so you know. I wanted to see how many jiffies it would take before you woke up. If your fighting skills were as impressive as your waking up skills, then you would be stronger than all the Kages combined!" Jaga finished with a flourish.

Everybody started laughing except for Kiba who got even angrier.

"Okay, you all have had your fun, we need to go! Move out!" Wani ordered.

As soon as they started to move towards Konoha, Kiba started to complain. "Oi, let me down, I can run just as fast as you guys can!"

"I highly doubt you can. As much as I wish to let you down, I can't. The Commander ordered me to carry you, and we have to move fast, far faster than any of you can travel," Saru replied in a cold voice. He was angry; he had just spent the better part of the trip back to Konoha in peace, without the stupid Inuzuka interrupting him. He just had to wake up now and ruin the rest of the trip.

Kiba snorted. "Hah, I'm an Inuzuka, we're the fastest shinobi around! If I need to go faster, I can just get on Akamaru…hey, where is he?"

"On my back fool. Are you that incompetent that you didn't even notice he was less than a foot away from you?" came Saru's angry reply. "Maybe you should buy a leash for him, that should help you keep track of him."

Kiba sniffed. 'Strange…I don't smell that Fenikkusu guy…maybe he died!' "Speaking of this Commander of yours, where is he? While we're at it, where's the rest of your amazing Rainbow Squad? Hah, the Commander probably made some stupid call and got them all killed! What an idiot, wearing a gold clo…" Kiba couldn't finish his statement because once again he was the sole target of six incredibly powerful sources of killing intent.

"Don't you dare insult the Commander! Right now he's in a fight of the likes that hasn't been seen in years. He's fighting a major threat to Konoha, and he took only half of his squad with him!" Wani snapped back.

Kiba managed to find his voice; he had to salvage what pride he had left. "Hah, if he's in such a huge battle, then why didn't he bring you guys with him?"

"We were told to go back to Konoha in order to get you and your team to safety. I wish that I was back there, but I will never go against the Commander's orders," Jaga replied in a genuine tone for the first time that day.

"The Commander knew the risks he faced by going against the enemy with only half strength. But he also knew that if he kept us there that you guys would be in even more danger. The Commander never puts other teams in situations where they are outclassed," Fukuro stated.

"What's so great about your Commander anyways? I've never heard of him! He must be a nobody, I mean I am part of Konoha's best reconnaissance team."

Kiba's attempt to regain his spot as the alpha male failed miserably. Saru 'accidentally' dropped him on the next tree branch he landed on, causing the Chuunin's wounds that he sustained in the previous battle to reopen.

"Don't ever insult the Commander in my presence. If I didn't have orders to take you back to Konoha safely, then I would kill you!" Saru stated breathing heavily. He barely managed to control his temper before he picked Kiba back up.

Akamaru started to whine from his position on Saru's back. Kiba decided that he should heed Akamaru's advice. To nurse his badly damaged pride, he told himself that if this encounter had happened when he was not hampered from overdosing on soldier pills, then he would've continued the argument until he won. But for today, he would let it slide.

-----------------------------------------

"Jaga-kun, did you tell the gate guards that we were coming back?"

"Nope! I just ran right past them! They didn't even know I was there! Guess I'm not such of a baka after all, huh Captain?"

"So you mean that we're heading straight for a closed gate, which will probably have extra gate guards on it?"

"Yup! I told Hokage-sama that the Commander wanted more gate guards in case anything happened. She listened to me too, I could hear her shouting as I left."

"You really are a baka! We're going to be stuck outside until Hokage-sama comes to identify us!"

"What?! Why wouldn't they let the famous Kuro Mizu in?!"

"Baka! How many people know who we are?"

"Oh…right…well, we could just go in the same way I did."

"And how was that?"

"I just ran up the gate without letting the guards see me."

"Jaga-kun, not all of us are as fast as you are," gently chided Fukuro.

"Hmmm…well, let's just burn that bridge when we get to it eh?" Wani was about to chastise Jaga for his lack of foresight again when he started talking. "Well, what do you now, it's time to burn the bridge. Doragon-kun, would you mind using the strongest ninjutsu you have? The gate looks pretty tough."

The group stopped when they reached the gates. There were no gate guards visible, which was standard procedure when the village was expecting an attack. After all, why give the enemy an extra target when there were peep holes to use?

"Doragon-kun, if you aren't going to use a ninjutsu, then I guess I could knock," stated Jaga. He hated it when the village was on alert; it slowed everything down, and the thing that Jaga hated the most was when things went slow.

"That won't be necessary…but it would be funny to see how long you would keep knocking," stated a voice from the top of the gate. Instinctively, everybody looked up towards the voice.

"Mitarashi-san, I assume that you have been told that we would be coming?" Wani stated while her hand slowly reached towards her kunai holder.

Even though she was near Konoha, she was still ready for anything. In fact, ever since the Commander had given them their orders, all the members of Kuro Mizu had been ready for battle; even Jaga had been ready to fight at a moments notice. His care-free and humorous attitude made his enemies underestimate his skills, giving him a major advantage. Not a single one of them would relax until the Commander told them to.

"Hai, Hokage-sama told us to look for ANBU members with oddly colored cloaks that were carrying the members of Team Eight and an additional Konoha Jounin. I recognize the members of Team Eight and the Jounin, and if your cloaks aren't oddly colored, then I don't know what is."

"It's very nice of you that you didn't attack us, but would you mind letting us in now? I need to go get a nice big bottle of sake," Jaga replied.

"Let me deactivate the security seals on the gate. It'll be quicker if you just run up the gate; opening them will take a couple of minutes. Okay, come on up!"

"You have my thanks my purple-haired hime," Jaga stated from behind Anko. 'Damn, I didn't even see him move! If he's that fast on the field, I wonder how fast he is in bed!'

"Oi, before you leave, Hokage-sama said she wanted to see all of you in her office immediately!" Anko called out just as the last member of Kuro Mizu ran up the gate. Wani nodded her head in confirmation, and without another word headed for the Hokage's Tower.

"Damn, guess we have to have a mission debriefing before we get that sake eh?"

"Jaga-baka, you know we always wait until the whole squad is back before we go drinking!" Fukuro chastised.

"Stow it you two, we're here. Look sharp, I'm not going to have us walk in there looking light we just ran a marathon," Wani stated. "The Commander wouldn't approve of it, and neither will I for that matter."

"Oi, we're back in Konoha now! You can let us down now!" Kiba replied. It wouldn't do if anyone from his clan saw him being carried like a child. Without a word, Saru dropped Kiba and untied Akamaru from his back. While Akamaru landed on all fours, Kbia landed on his butt. 'Damn, humiliated in front of Hinata-chan again! It's going take forever to rebuild my reputation!'

The other passengers were let off in a more gentle manner. With the members of Kuro Mizu leading the way, they all entered the Hokage's Tower.

They walked right past the initial receptionist and headed up the stairs. When they reached the room leading to the Hokage's office, another receptionist looked up. Her mouth formed an 'O' as she saw the color the ANBU's cloaks.

"Hokage-sama is waiting for you. Please enter her office," she stated politely, managing to close her mouth before anyone could call her on her bad manners.

"Arigato," Wani replied.

Instead of the two Chuunin guards outside of the office, there were two ANBU Black Ops guarding the door. Wani was sure that there were more ANBU members hidden somewhere; that was protocol, during an alert the regular Chuunin guards would be replaced with ANBU Black Ops and more ANBU members would be hidden. Some could be hiding in a closet, Henged as a piece of furniture, or even Henged as the Hokage should the situation be desperate enough.

Wani raised her right hand and knocked twice.

"Come in," came the Hokage's voice.

--------------------------------------------------------

1: Here's to looking at you- It's a quote from a movie, _Casablanca_. The entire quote is "Here's to looking at you, kid."

2: Hitai-ates? We ain't got no hitai-ates! We don't need no hitai-ates. I don't have to show you any stinkin' hitai-ates!- It's a variation of the quote, "Badges? We ain't got no badges! We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinkin' badges!" from the movie, _The Treasure of the Sierra Madre_.

3: Iryo-nin- Medic nin

4: Zankuuha- Extreme Decapitating Air Waves

5: Katon: Karyuu Endan- Fire Dragon Flame Projectile

6: Rairyuu no Tatsumaki- Lightning Dragon Tornado

7: Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu- Grand Waterfall Technique

Author's Notes: Okay, I was planning on having this be a one-shot, but it was way too long. If I wanted to, I could make this into an entire fic, not a two-shot (which it will be). I'd really appreciate it if you would review, I'd like to know what you thought of my first fight scenes (I know they're short, I did that on purpose; this fic isn't focused on fighting, it focuses more on drama and romance-which will be greatly emphasized in the next chapter).

Before I finish this, I have some beta-work to do for Nartuo 21 first. Then I'll work on the second chapter (which is already outlined). After chapter two is finished, then I'll get back to work on Prodigy of the Spirit Realm. I already have up to chapter five outlined, so the updates shouldn't take three months.

I decided to go call the members of Kuro Mizu by their masks because some if not all of them are O.C.'s, and I suck at creating Japanese names. I can't copy them from some other Japanese show because when I write about them I get the original characters face and attitude in my mind and it hampers the writing process. Next chapter will include all the names and translations, cloak colors, and finally what Fenikkusu and Jaga hinted at, their specializations.


	2. Returning and Leaving

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Note**: The majority of this story will be taking place in one giant flashback. The flashback takes place after the first line break.

**SPOILER WARNING (MAYBE):**

Akatsuki has not, I repeat, **NOT** killed any of the main characters, with the exception of Gaara (who was later resurrected). This means that Asuma is still alive. Sasori was killed, but not by Sakura. He was killed by Nartuo; the reason behind this will be explained later on in the story.

In addition, much about several Akatsuki members will be revealed. In addition, several facts from the recent manga chapters will be in here. If you watch the dubbed version of Naruto, then you probably won't want to read what's in this chapter.

In regards to giving this an M-rating, that's for the third chapter. It will be getting much gorier.

One last thing; I received a review which asked when Naruto was coming into this story. My answer is simple: What made you think he wasn't in it? Just because I didn't type his name doesn't mean that he hasn't been portrayed.

"Regular Talk"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Demon/Inner Sakura Talk"**

'_**Demon/Inner Sakura Thought'**_

Begin:

**Returning and Leaving**

"A-ano…h-how l-long w-was it w-w-when y-you sustained y-your w-w-wounds?"

He just blinked and lowered his jug of sake. "Days…maybe a week…I'm not sure."

She gasped. "Y-you n-n-need to have t-them t-t-treated i-immediately! T-they might g-get i-in-infected!"

"No."

She was confused. She had never met anyone who would refuse medical treatment, especially not one as badly wounded as he. Well…there was one blonde-haired shinobi who had to be tied down or unconscious before any iryo-nin (medic nin) could treat his wounds.

His ANBU mask was cracked, and only covered about three-fourths of his face. The lower right part of his face was visible, which allowed him to drink his saki without removing his mask. His cloak, which had once been beautiful, was in shreds. She was surprised that the cloak was still fastened to his armor, considering how badly damaged it was. His armor was cracked and pierced all over. Blood, his and that of his enemies, covered his entire body, making it hard to see if he had any open wounds.

"M-may I a-ask w-why?"

"It's a reminder. A reminder of what was lost. I…I am a lucky one. I am in the best condition of those who were on my mission. It is all my fault…Therefore, I will willingly bear these wounds."

"B-but you'll d-d-die if you don't get them treated!"

"Do not worry, I will have them treated when Hokage-sama returns. I will attend my mission debriefing like this, as a sign of respect to those who are worse off than I. Then, and only then, will I allow my wounds to be tended to."

She was stunned; she had only seen such determination in one person before. A man who had made vows in blood when he was only a boy. A man whose will would never be broken, despite all the obstacles and horrors that he had to face. A man she loved.

"W-what happened? W-what w-went w-wrong?"

"I wish I could tell you, I really do, but I can not. This is classified information, and the first person outside of my team that can know is the Hokage. I won't even tell the Council what happened."

"I…I see. I'm s-s-sorry for a-asking."

"Think nothing of it."

Sitting down next to the man in the alley, she looked up at the stars. They were so bright, and the moon was so full.

"It is s-such a n-nice night."

"That it is. That it is." Though she couldn't see it, the man's eyes glazed over. He thought about it. What had gone wrong? When had it gone wrong? He thought back to a time when everything seemed right, a time that seemed like ages ago, when in fact it was roughly seven months ago, in May.

----------------------------------------------------

_**Flashback (Will Continue For Most of the Story)**_

"Go now! I'll take care of him! Head for Konoha!"

"But Commander…"

"No 'buts' Ookami-chan. Go! I can't guarantee that any of you will survive this! Start heading towards Konoha, I'll catch up with you! Hurry, the containment seal won't last for long!"

"No! We're not going to leave you behind Commander!"

"Who do you think you are ordering me around? I could have your entire career as a shinobi ruined Tokage-chan, I could ruin all of your careers!"

"Better a ruined career and a live Commander than an intact career and a dead Commander. We're not going to leave!"

Fenikkusu sighed. "Stubborn as always eh Zou-kun? Let's make a compromise then. I want you all to head towards Konoha. You can stop when you're three hundred meters away. Tokage-chan, heal everybody once you get there. I'll meet up with all of you then. Happy?"

Sai saluted the Commander with a bloody sword. "Yup! Was it really that hard to make that decision Commander?"

Fenikkusu was about to answer when he noticed that the containment seal was at critical damage. If his prisoner hit the seal with another powerful attack, then it would break. "It's at critical level! Go, now! That's an order!"

The members of Kuro Mizu nodded their heads. Just before they left, they each saluted their Commander. When Fenikkusu returned their salute, they dropped their hands and jumped to the trees, making their way towards Konoha.

Fenikkusu watched them go. He wished that he hadn't had made that compromise; it had put them in danger, unnecessary danger. As a leader, he didn't want them in danger. As a friend, he wanted them close by. Being a leader is wonderful. Making the decisions that a leader has to is terrible. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard his prisoner speak up.

"You…I believe that I recognize that move…only one man had used it before you, correct?" the man didn't receive an answer, so he continued, "If it was the move I believe it was, then you are his son."

"You are correct," Fenikkusu stated, causing his prisoner's eyes to widen, "I am someone's son, just as you are someone's son. Perhaps 'were' would be the proper word to use, seeing as no one will ever see you again."

The man just smirked at the ANBU's naivety. "You can't kill me. Nobody can kill me!"

"True, but I can do the next best thing. Observe!" Fenikkusu firmly stated before he kneeled down to slam his hand down into the middle of a complex seal at his feet.

'When did he draw that? Was it when we were talking? How could I not have noticed him drawing it?!' thought the distraught prisoner.

'Kuso…for this seal to work, I have to drop the containment seal and then let this seal do its work. I have to make sure he doesn't loop my head off when I drop the containment seal and wait for this seal to work!'

The prisoner raised his weapon and brought it down on the chakra-dome that was containing him. Just before his weapon reached the dome, it dissipated. Since he had put his entire body into the swing, he fell forward face down into the dirt when his weapon met no resistance.

He pushed himself up and spat out dirt before picking up his weapon and jumping up to his feet. 'What happened? Did he mess up? No, he hasn't made a single mistake during our fight, so he must've done it on purpose. Maybe that seal he just drew requires the containment seal to be gone. I have to finish this before it's too late!' he thought as he analyzed the facts in front of him. Realizing that his time was limited, he dashed towards Fenikkusu, with his weapon trailing behind him.

"Die!"

'_Just a few more seconds…'_

Suddenly, with a bright flash of light, the man fell to the ground, unconscious. Unfortunately for Fenikkusu, the man launched his weapon towards him just before he fell. The weapon's three blades impaled themselves in Fenikkusu's right leg and a loud cracking noise was emitted. Fenikkusu started to shake.

'_Kuso, this is not good. Hokage-sama will not be happy that my armor needs to be repaired.'_

He reached down to his leg firmly grasped the handles of the weapon. With a firm tug, he pulled it out and placed it next to his unconscious opponent. He reached into his back pouch and pulled out two storage scrolls. Without wasting any time, he sealed the weapon in one scroll and the body in the other.

Fenikkusu attempted to stand up, but he couldn't. _'Hmm…guess that seal took more out of me than I thought. I can't wait here and rest, I need to meet my team.'_

After a few moments, Fenikkusu attempted to stand up. He shifted most of his weight to his left leg, in order to put as little stress on his right leg as possible. Once he was sure that he could stand without falling over, he jumped to the trees and headed towards Konoha to rejoin his teammates.

There was nothing in the forest that would alert anyone that a battle had been fought here…except for the clearing surrounded by forests. The clearing was filled with broken and burned trees, looking as if someone had punched them down, set on fire, threw lightning bolts at them, and then to top it all off a small hurricane had formed there. Yes, nothing there would alert anyone that a fight had been here.

The next team that patrolled the area would report that they believed a small war had been fought right under Konoha's nose.

-------------------------------------

Ookami was pacing back and forth, causing everyone who was watching her get dizzy. Finally, Sai had enough.

"Sit your ass down Ookami-chan!" she yelled. Before Ookami could yell back, Tokage cut in, "I know you're worried Ookami-chan, we all are. But the Commander said we would meet us here, and he never lies. If he said he'll meet us here, then he'll meet us here."

Ookami sighed. They were right, both of them. She was worried, very worried. The commander had done so much for everyone of Kuro Mizu, that it seemed as though he were their father; the fact that he was the youngest of the group didn't matter to any of them.

Age doesn't make a good leader, skill does. And for that very reason, Fenikkusu was the leader of Kuro Mizu. While his age was a running joke in the squad, his skills were not. He was an amazing fighter, tactician, and leader. That was why everybody on the squad would do whatever he told them to do.

"I guess you guys are right. But enough about me, how are you doing Tokage-chan? You must be exhausted, having to heal all our wounds, and some of them were pretty bad," Ookami questioned.

"Me? I'm fine. I just don't know if I'll have enough chakra to heal the Commander when he comes back. You know how he is," she answered before she sat down, leaning her back against a tree.

Ookami chuckled; she couldn't help it, despite their current situation. Everybody on the squad knew what the Commander was like. He would always push himself past his limits, hell he pushed himself past any human limits, in order to get the mission done. None of them would be surprised if he came back covered in blood.

"Well, let's hope that he isn't injured too badly, otherwise you have to carry him Zou-kun," she stated.

"Why do I have to carry him? Aren't you the one always going off about how kunoichi need to be treated just as shinobi are treated?"

'_He's got me there…'_ "Well, you wouldn't want us girls to break our backs by carrying him do you? You've seen how much he eats, he must weigh a ton!"

"And here I was, thinking that you were actually being nice for a second Ookami-chan," a voice said from above them, "And were you implying that I'm fat?"

"Commander! You're all right!"

"Of course I am all right Tokage-chan. Did you think that one S-class missing-nin would be enough to stop me?" Fenikkusu asked as he jumped down to join his remaining teammates.

"No, but I'm surprised that you didn't come back with broken bones."

Though all his limbs seemed to be functioning, he was not without injury. He was covered in blood, but without a medical examination, it was impossible to tell if the blood was his or his enemies. It was probably a mix of both.

"Now why would you get an idea like that?"

"Because you tend to be extremely reckless when it comes to taking on more risks to keep us safe," Tokage lectured.

"Bah, name five times that happened!"

"Well Commander, there was the time three months back when we were on the week long mission to destroy the Oto outposts built near the our border," Zou stated.

"That was once!"

"There were ten different outposts, and for six of them you had us provide you with cover fire while you went in, thus showing your recklessness," Zou responded.

"Hmmph, figures an elephant would remember every time that I was being perilous. Hear that? Perilous! That's the word we're using now, remember? Recklessness, foolish, and all those other words are for Hokage-sama to use, not us."

The remaining members of Kuro Mizu just stared at Fenikkusu.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

"Imposter!" Sai yelled, immediately brandishing her two swords at 'Fenikkusu' while Ookami jumped up onto a tree branch, pulled out her bow, and took aim. Zou grabbed the still fatigued Tokage and jumped back.

Fenikkusu looked behind him before looking back at his teammates. "You mean me?! I'm no imposter!"

"Well, you certainly aren't acting like the Commander we know, you're acting like Jaga-kun!"

"Hmmm…do I really sound that enthusiastic? I guess it's just because I'm really happy! We're one-third of the way done with one of our missions," Fenikkusu stated happily.

"Prove that you're the real Commander!" Sai commanded.

"Fine, fine. Sai-chan, I built those two swords for you. Each allows you to wield your element through it. Ookami-chan, I built your bow for you. I also added the minute seals to the bowstring so you didn't have to carry a quiver of arrows around with you. Zho-kun, I helped you refine your ninjutsus; Tokage-chan, I supplied you with all those herbs!"

Sai lowered her swords before replying. "I guess you really are the Commander. So, what happe..." before she could finish her question, the Commander disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Ookami quietly let out a string of curses. "Kage Bunshin," she snarled.

"Was it really the Commander or was someone using a Henge?" Tokage questioned. She had been too far away to tell if it was a Kage Bunshin or not, much less if someone was using a Henge.

"Don't know," Sai answered tersely, raising her swords once again.

"Good, you were still alert," came a voice from above them…again.

"Commander?! Are you the Commander or another damn clone?" angrily questioned Ookami.

Tokage closed her eyes and focused as she got out of Zou's arms. The chakra signatures…they were unique. No one else in the world could replicate the Commander's chakra. Only eight other people could come close to replicating it. Even the clones he made had different chakra.

She let out a sigh of relief before stating, "It's him."

The members of Kuro Mizu visibly relaxed. Except for Ookami. She stiffened even more, if that was possible.

"Why the hell did you send a clone Commander?"

"To make sure you were still on your feet. I was glad that you were. It wouldn't do if you were unable to tell that something was off with me. What if I had been defeated and the enemy used a Henge to get close to you? We've wasted enough time here, we should go."

With a nod, they all jumped up to the trees and started to head towards Konoha. Sai noticed something odd. She was leading the group. Normally the Commander led the group for two reasons. One was that he believed that a leader should do anything he would command his subordinates to do. The other was that if any enemy forces attacked or traps were set off, he wanted to be the one that took the damage, not his team. He was so protective of them all.

Sai looked back to see where the Commander was. To her surprise, he was at the very back. The only reason he ever traveled at the back was if there was a threat coming at them from behind. There was no threat this time; if there was, then the Commander wouldn't have left the clearing where he was fighting. That meant that he had to be injured. She subtly made a signal to Tokage to discreetly examine the Commander.

Tokage didn't need to get close to see what was ailing the Commander. It was quite obvious to see the fresh blood stains coming from the Commander's right leg and how he slightly tensed whenever he landed on his right leg. Upon further observation, she could tell that he was trying to put as little weight as possible on his right leg.

She was ashamed of herself. She was the squad's medic; she should have insisted on examining the Commander before they left. She hadn't noticed that the Commander was injured until Sai had pointed it out to her. After all the times that the Commander looked out for them, this was how she re-payed him? No, this would not do at all.

"Commander, allow me to heal your wounds!" Tokage partially demanded, partially begged.

"So you noticed? They're not that bad, I can wait until we reach Konoha," he answered in a calm voice.

"Why? Are you not confidant in my skills? I could heal you!" Tokage demanded. She felt betrayed; the Commander was the one who encouraged her to further her training in the medical field. He was the one who picked her to join Kuro Mizu. She joined, even though she knew that the shinobi she would treat would most likely be in critical condition most of the time and on the battlefield. Why was he refusing her treatment?

"It's not that I don't have faith in your skills Tokage-chan. I would trust my health to you just as much as I would trust my health to Hokage-sama," he soothingly stated, "It's just that you're exhausted, both mentally and physically. Plus, you used up a lot of chakra healing the others and fighting earlier. I don't want to have to carry you to Konoha."

Tokage was embarrassed beyond belief. She was glad that she had her mask on so no one could see her face. "Ano…please forget my outburst Commander," she pleaded.

Fenikkusu let out a rare chuckle. "No problem. Besides, if I let you heal yourself to exhaustion again, Hokage-sama will lecture me for hours…again. And I would rather avoid that."

Ookami grinned behind her mask. The Commander would face an army of Jounins without blinking, but when it came to lectures, he would do anything to avoid them. It was hard to believe that someone as powerful as he would be afraid of something that couldn't make him bleed.

"Are we going to sneak in or hope that Hokage-sama is waiting for us at the gate to let us in?" questioned Zou.

"We could just ask the gate guards to let us in," stated Tokage.

"Why would they let us in Tokage-chan? They don't know who we are; they would probably act like the retarded Inuzuka baka," Ookami stated.

Zou started chuckling before stating, "Looks like Tokage-chan got the guards to let us in."

"And from the look on Mitarashi-san's face, I would assume that Hokage-sama told her to let any ANBU in that have colored cloaks," Fenikkusu wisely stated.

"Oi, you damn eyesores, Hokage-sama wants you to report to her office immediately! Your other teammates are waiting there…unless they went to get sake, I heard one of them say something about that," Anko gruffly stated. She was mad, very mad. If she had known that ANBU get to wear colored cloaks (especially the purple one she had seen earlier) she would've joined immediately. The long hours would be manageable as long as she got to wear such a nice cloak!

"Jaga-baka better not have left the Hokage's office to get sake," growled Ookami.

"Relax, I doubt he would. After all, he doesn't know the squads account number, and I doubt he would pay for it with his own money when he finds out how expensive the stuff we drink is," Zou stated. That earned him a chuckle from Ookami.

"You're right Zou-kun, Jaga-baka is very stingy with his money," she replied.

"We should get going," gently reminded Tokage.

"Hai, we should face the Armageddon to get it over with," gloomily stated Fenikkusu.

His subordinates looked at him. It wasn't often that the Commander wasn't willing to meet with Hokage-sama. In fact, he usually enjoyed going there because it meant that they would get more missions or get to see the shocked look on the Hokage's face when she heard about what they did.

"You want to go to the hospital first?" questioned Tokage, who knew why the Commander was so reluctant.

"That would make things even worse Tokage-sama. Every time I go to the hospital, Hokage-sama has the staff there deliver my files to her. Then she will lecture me for being too reckless, even if I only broke a rib or two," Fenikkusu stated.

Tokage narrowed her eyes. "That's not the only reason is it?"

Fenikkusu sighed. "No…my armor needs to repaired. The last time I checked, our supplies to make our armor was running low."

Sai started to laugh. "Everything happens to you, doesn't it Commander?"

"Yes, everything does happen to me. I also believe that Hokage-sama will be the one to see to my wounds."

"Commander, I hope you aren't offended or anything, but I will not be standing near you during our debriefing. I am not in the mood to be thrown out the window," Zou stated.

The other members of Kuro Mizu shivered. They all knew that Hokage-sama had no problem with hitting the Commander; he was one of the few that could be hit from her and not obtain major injuries. If Hokage-sama got mad enough, then everyone near him would be in danger of being thrown out the window. Poor Jaga had been standing next to the Commander once when the Hokage threw a chair at the Commander. The Commander flew through the window, but not before he knocked Jaga out the window first. They all silently vowed stay as far from the Commander as they could.

Before they knew it, they were passing the secretary, who had obviously seen the rest of their squad because she didn't openly gawk at them. They knocked on the door as the two ANBU Black Op members saluted to the Commander.

"Come in," a voice from inside the office stated. With a visibly trembling hand, Fenikkusu opened the door.

The two ANBU Black Op members that remained outside saw the Commander's hand shaking. Both of them moved farther to the side; neither wanted to be hit by the Commander if he was thrown through the door instead of the window.

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When Fenikkusu entered the office, the members of Kuro Mizu moved to position themselves so that Fenikkusu was in the middle of the group.

"Have a seat," Tsunade stated, motioning to several couches. Team Eight and Shizune were already sitting down.

"We will stand Hokage-sama," Fenikkusu stated.

"I don't even know why I bother asking you to sit, you always decline," Tsunade grumbled, "Now, give me your mission report."

Team Eight and Shizune made movements to leave the room, but Tsunade raised one hand to stop them.

"You can stay. The information will be made public knowledge soon enough, so you may as well hear it now," she explained. Looking back at Fenikkusus, she stated, "Please continue."

"Hokage-sama, my suspicions were correct; Orochimaru has been recruiting bandits and applying cursed seals to them," Fenikkusus stated.

"That…is not good news," she replied in a grave voice.

"No it is not," he greed, "The only good news is that not all of them can reach level two. From Tokage-chan's analysis of the bodies, the first level caused their body to undergo extreme amounts of stress. Only the strongest, both in body and mind, could survive the transformation to level two.

"Are you sure that they were bandits and not shinobi?" Shizune questioned.

"Hai. Their tactics and leadership skills, or rather the lack of the latter, matched those of bandits exactly."

"Some of these groups of bandits have shinobi with them though," Wani added, "On the way back to Konoha, my group encountered several shinboi. Some of them could have been bandits because they had the air tubes that Orochimaru is so fond of giving to his subordinates."

"Regardless, this is not good news," Tsunade repeated.

"Hokage-sama, if you don't mind, could you tell us what their mission was?" Kurenai questioned.

"Hokage-sama, may I?" Fenikuusu inquired. Upon receiving a nod, he continued, "Recent intel has shown a rather large decrease in bandit attacks on our border villages. It was very unlikely that they would just decide to stop. Therefore, Kuro Mizu was given the task of finding out what happened to them."

"Why did your group split up before taking us back to Konoha?" questioned Shino.

"Confidential information. Until Hokage-sama decides to make it public knowledge, it will remain as such," Fenikkusus stated.

"Just who are you guys anyways?" Kiba boldly questioned.

As one the ANBU members answered, "We are Kuro Mizu."

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Kureani, along with her subordinates just stared. "Kuro Mizu…so what those bandits called you was accurate?" seeing Fenikkusu nod Kurenai continued, "Then you are known as the Shikyo no Fenikkusu?"

"Shikyo no Fenikkusu? Phoenix of Death? I haven't heard that one yet," Tsunade stated with a slight smile on her face.

"It is just another name," Fenikkusu stated.

"Kuro Mizu seems like a name that would better fit an ANBU squad from Kiri, yet you are from Konoha. Why do you have such a…foreign name?" Shino questioned.

Looking towards the Hokage once again, Fenikkusu saw her give him a slight nod, giving him permission to continue.

"It fits our primary mission," he stated, "Our primary mission is the destruction of Akatsuki and to deal as much damage as possible to Oto with intent of keeping them from launching an attack on Konoha."

"Ano…th-that d-does n-not e-e-explain why y-your name is s-s-s-o peculiar," Hinata managed to ask.

"It does if you think about it. Take the words apart. That leave you with Kuro meaning 'dark' and Mizu, meaning 'water'. Akatsuki means 'dawn, and Oto means sound."

"So just tell us what the damn name means already!" shouted Kiba.

"Patience is a virtue," Fenikkusu stated while he held up one hand to forestall any future outbursts from Kiba. "Think about it. What do the words have in common?"

Upon seeing Kiba scratching his head in confusion, Fenikkusu decided to answer. "Dawn disappears in the dark. Sound is unheard in water. Combine dark and water, and neither daybreak nor sound exist there."

"That explains the name, but what about your cloaks?" Kiba questioned.

"These special cloaks are made of very rare materials."

"What makes them so special? That it'll get you killed because it's so bright?"

"Do you really think that Hokage-sama would let us go on S-class missions if we wore bright cloaks? Observe," Fenikkusu stated.

Suddenly, the ANBU disappeared from sight. 'He…he's gone?! I can't see him…or smell him…hell, I can't even hear his breathing!' Kiba thought, 'What the hell does that cloak do?!' Just as mysteriously had Fenikkusu disappeared did he reappear.

"I can tell that you don't understand what happened. Let me explain; by channeling a minute amount of chakra into the cloak, I can make my cloak as bright as the sun or as dark as night," Fenikkusu answered.

"Why couldn't I smell or hear you?"

"The cloak is soaked in a special oil to keep our smell in and emits no odors. It essentially makes it so no person or animal can smell us. As for not being able to hear me, I just stood still and slowed my heart down so it wouldn't be as loud."

Kurenai spoke up before Kiba could speak again, "We should let Fenikkusu-san and his squad finish their debriefing in private. Besides, we have…training sessions to plan.

Kiba winced. He knew that he was in big trouble. The next few weeks would not be fun.

"Ano…Fenikkusu-san? Y-you s-should h-have your w-w-wounds t-tended to," Hinata meekly stated.

"Wounds?" Tsunade asked sharply, "What wounds?"

In response, Hinata pointed to his right leg. "Ano…I n-noticed t-that Fenikkusu-san w-wasn't p-putting much w-weight on h-his r-r-right leg, so I assumed t-that h-he was injured."

Tsunade gave the shy Chuunin a small smile. "Thank you for telling me Hinata-chan," she stated before she looked towards Fenikkusu and narrowed her eyes. "Are you injured?" she stated as she walked towards him.

"Hai," he stated in a quavering voice. HE took off his cloak in order to show the Hokage his injury.

The members of Team Eight and Shizune were once again shocked by Fenikkusu…or rather, his gear.

ANBU members were given the same type of armor-a chest plate, forearm guards, and shin guards. Fenikkusu's armor, was different; it resembled a samurai's full suit of armor rather than the ANBU's partial-suit.

"Your armor seems to be different from the standard ANBU-issued armor," Shino stated.

"It is different. It allows us to move with much more flexibility than other full-suits of armor," Fenikkus stated as he removed his armor. He wore a common mesh shirt and cargo pantsunderneath, but what caught everyone's attention was the number of wounds that he had on his body.

Shino wondered why he would have so many wounds even though he was wearing armor, so he sent several of his bugs to investigate the armor. When they sent back what they had observed, the puzzle was solved; despite it's firm appearance, the armor had several punctures in it, most likely caused by a weapon or a strong jutsu.

"Now, we must really be going," Kurenai stated, "Arigato Kuro Mizu. My team and I are in your debt." After the rest of her team offered their thanks, Team Eight left the office.

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Tsunade frowned as she tended to Fenikkusu's wounds. When she reached his right leg, her frown turned to a glare as she pulled fragments of his armor out from the large gash in his leg.

"You broke your armor this badly again?!" yelled Tsunade.

"Hai."

"You know we're running low on the mineral that were used to make and repair the armor right?"

"Hai."

"You know that the minerals come from Iwa right?"

"Hai."

Tusnade's right eye started to twitch; she was getting annoyed with his emotionless and single-word responses.

"Before you yell, you should know that we are now one-third of the way done with our Alpha-level mission," Fenikkusu stated, trying to reign in Tsunade's temper before it got out of control…and he ended up outside.

Tsunade froze with her hands still glowing green with medical chakra. She had never expected Kuro Mizu to even attempt their Alpha-level mission yet. Eager to learn more, she quickly formed several hand seals.

"We may now speak in privacy. Tell me what happened!" Tsunade stated urgently.

Fenikkusu looked at his squad before speaking, "You may leave; I will handle this debreifing and file the mission report. Wani-chan, I want your report of what happened after we split in two tomorrow morning. Meet me at nineteen hundred at the usual bar. Dismissed!"

With replies of "Hai" and a salute, the members of Kuro Mizu left the room.

"Would you like me to leave Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked. She hoped that she could stay; it would be interesting to hear the mission details.

Tsunade shook her head. "You can stay and heal Fenikkusu-san's wounds." With a nod, Shizune focused her chakra to her hands and started to heal some of his wounds. Tsunade stopped the flow of chakra to her hands and walked towards her desk. She closed the blinds over her window and sat down at her desk.

"You can take off your mask now," Tsunade stated firmly.

Fenikkusu looked around; satisfied that the proper security measures were in place, he reached up and started to pull off his mask.

Tsunade smiled as she saw Fenikkusu start to remove his mask on. She didn't know when the last time he took it off. He had developed a nasty habit of wearing it whenever he could.

Shizune stopped healing Fenikkusu's wounds in order to see what he looked like without his mask. Maybe she knew who he was; that would be incredible, knowing a shinobi that was strong enough to lead a group that was created to defeat Konoha's most dangerous enemies.

"Even though I can guess who you encountered due to the nature of your wounds, I would still like to hear your account of what happened…Naruto," Tsunade stated.

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Shizune gasped as she heard Tsunade reveal Fenikkusu's name. Naruto-kun? No way that Fenikkusu was Naruto, Naruto was barely twenty years old. It couldn't be Naruto-kun. She looked at Fenikkusu to see if Tsunade-sama was pulling her leg. Much to her surprise, she wasn't.

There standing in front of her was none other than Uzumaki Naruto. His blond hair was as messy as ever, looking like he had just gotten out of bed. In fact, he looked the same as he always did, except for his clothing and his eyes.

They were still as blue as the sky, but they lacked that little sparkle of amusement that was always there. Instead of being warm and comforting, they seemed to be a bit cold. When he met her eyes, a bit of that sparkle returned to his eyes. It seemed that he was amused by her reaction to his identity.

"Hello Shizune-neechan," Naruto warmly welcomed, "I would've greeted you earlier, but that would be breaking protocol."

"When did you start worrying about protocol?" Shizune answered. It had been a while since she had seen him; she had forgotten how warm she felt whenever she saw his smile.

"When I became Commander of Kuro Mizu, I couldn't act like I used to. I had to become a true leader," Naruto replied.

"As interesting as this is, I'd like to know what happened," Tsunade interrupted.

"After we rescued Shizune-neechan, I noticed that a large majority of the camp's inhabitants were missing. We started searching for them, which led us to Team Eight's location. I'll spare you the details, since you can read about it in the report, which will be on your desk tomorrow morning."

Tsunade nodded. While she was curious as to how Shizune was rescued, the results of Kuro Mizu's Alpha-level mission took priority.

"We helped Team Eight fight off several cursed seal bandits and as we were about to escort them back to Konoha, I felt a rather unique chakra signature nearby. In order to lure the intruder closer, I had Ookami-chan pretend to disagree with my orders and challenge me for position as Commander of Kuro Mizu. Needless to say, that power struggle drew the spy even closer."

"Well, who was it?"

Naruto opened his mouth to answer, but then he suddenly closed it. His eyes narrowed. "Ero-sennin, you can come out now."

With a poof of smoke, Jiraiya stepped out from the side of Tsunade's desk. "How'd you know I was here gaki?"

Naruto just stared at him like he was insane. "Why would Baachan have a teapot on her desk?"

"Hmmm…guess I should've thought of that," grumbled Jiraiya.

Tsunade was getting annoyed; Shizune yelled at her enough for her drinking habits. She didn't need to hear these two rambling on about it. Besides, she wanted to know who the spy was! "So, who was it?"

"Zetsu," Naruto calmly replied, "Akatsuki's spy."

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Shizune was stunned. She had often heard Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama grumbling about how hard it was to catch that spy, seeing as he could meld into trees and disappear without a trace.

"How the hell did you get him gaki?" Jiraiya asked. His pride was wounded. He couldn't detect that damn plant-man and this gaki, barely half his age, had detected him.

"During my 'fight' with Ookami-chan, we could sense his chakra getting closer and closer. When he wasn't getting any closer, Ookmai-chan fired an arrow in his direction."

"It was more of a signal than an attack. Luckily, it stuck his hand to the tree he was in. Apparently he can't merge with the trees when he's stuck to one."

"We started to run to his location. I reached him first and started to inscribe exploding seals on nearby trees. The version of exploding seals that I used activate when the weight of the tree changes by at least fifty pounds. I originally designed it to use when enemy shinobi are jumping from tree to tree, but it works just as well if someone is merging from tree to tree.

"Ookami-chan arrived next. She fired a few more arrows, keeping him stuck to the tree. When the rest of my squad arrived, I had them patrol the perimeter to make sure that Zetsu didn't manage to merge into a tree that I didn't have time to place a seal on."

"When I got back to where Zetsu and Ookami-chan were, he was spitting some sort of acid at her. Luckily, she managed to avoid all the acid blasts."

"I came up behind him and used Fuuton: Rasengan. It effectively killed him, despite the fact that he was in a tree."

Jiraiya snorted. "Gaki, don't sound so surprised. Your Fuuton: Rasengan could destroy a mountain; there's no way that a tree would protect anyone."

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Tsunade and Shizune were stunned. Neither could understand how the two men in the room were talking about Zetsu's death like it was nothing. After all, it wasn't everyday that an S-class criminal, much less one belonging to Akatsuki, was killed.

"What I can't understand is how lucky you were that Zetus was trapped. Whenever I was tracking him, he would always merge in a tree and disappear," Jiraiya complained.

"We were very lucky. Anyways, after we killed Zetsu, we went back to the clearing where we left Team Eight and Shizune-neechan. Just before we left, I felt two more large chakra signatures heading towards us."

"It was then that I realized that the Akatsuki teams started to travel closer together since I'm the only Jinchuuruki left. I split Kuro Mizu in two and sent the first group to take Team Eight and Shizune-neechan back to Konoha."

"Naruto," Tsunade growled, "What the hell were you thinking?! Kuro Mizu consists of twelve of Konoha's best shinobi so all twelve of you could overwhelm the Akatsuki teams!"

Naruto just stood there without blinking. Tsunade sighed. "Naruto, I know you're strong, but you're no match for two high S-class nuke-nin. If I had to rank you, I'd place you ahs a high A-class shinobi, along with the rest of your squad. The original plan was to have six Kuro Mizu members against one Akatsuki member."

"Hokage-sama," Tsunade's eyes widened as she heard him, "I think you are underestimating our skills. You have not evaluated our skills since Kuro Mizu was formed."

"So what happened next Naruto-kun?" Shizune quickly asked, trying to defuse the situation.

"I split my group in two. Sai-chan and I fought Hidan while the others fought Kakuzu. About four minutes into the fight, I realized that the other group wasn't doing well. Fighting Kakuzu is like fighting a cat with five lives because you have to destroy all five of his hearts."

I managed to construct a containment seal around Hidan. Luckily, he hadn't gotten some of our blood so his main jutsu was useless. After he was trapped in the containment seal, Sai-chan and I went to reinforce the rest of our squad."

"Killing Kakuzu was a bloody task, but in the end we managed to do it. I destroyed two hearts, Tokage-chan got none because she was busy healing us, and the others destroyed one each. After that, I told my squad to leave, because the seal that I was about to use was entirely experimental," Naruto stated.

"Gaki! You know as well as I do that if you mess up with an experimental seal the explosion that takes place will kill you! And what the hell have I told you about your habit of using experimental seals?" Jiraiya yelled.

"Never to use them and that I'm extremely lucky that I haven't been killed yet. This was an exception though; how else was I supposed to stop an immortal opponent?"

"Naruto-kun, what did the seal do?" Shizune asked nervously. She didn't want to get caught in one of their arguments.

"The seal consumes a large amount of chakra to work. In theory, it was supposed to keep someone in a brain dead state. I made this seal specifically for Hidan," Naruto answered.

"How does the seal work?" questioned Shizune.

"The seal takes about a minute to charge up before it can be applied. When it is charging, the user can't move out of the seal. The amount of chakra that it takes is almost three-fourths of what most Jounin have. When the seal is attached to its target, several nerves in the brain will be overloaded with chakra, causing them to stop functioning. It only destroys a few nerves, leaving those that allow breathing and other such functions to continue on their own. Thus, the person will be left in a brain dead state. The person can't really be called brain dead because the person doesn't need a machine to help them breathe or what not."

"Why didn't you just use Fuuton: Rasen Shuriken to destroy the nerves in his brain? If I remember correctly, that justsu of yours has similar effects to this seal you described," Shizune asked.

"Hidan belongs to a fanatical group who worship a deity called 'Jashin'. Followers of this…religion, if you call it that, are basically immortal. Nothing can kill the followers. I've cut off his head before and his partner, Kakuzu, just sewed it back on and Hidan was ready to fight," Naruto grimly stated.

"His invulnerability allows him to use a unique ninjutsu; if he obtains some of his opponent's blood, then he will draw a seal and start to inflict damage upon himself. Whatever damage he takes is also given to the person whose blood he has. Since no one else is immortal, it was a perfect technique for him to use."

"That's why I had to use the seal. I had to make sure that he wouldn't be able to attack or move and at the same time, I had to make sure that he wouldn't die. If he did die, then he would be revived."

Finished with his explanations, Naruto took out several scrolls.

"Zetsu, Hidan, Kakuzu, and their rings," Naruto stated as he pointed to the first four scrolls. Pointing to the other scrolls, Nartuo continued, "Remains of the missing Genin team and a scroll that Team Eight recovered from their mission."

The occupants in the room grimaced as they realized that their fears of what had happened to the Genin team proved to be true. It was always hard when children lost their lives. Tsunade had it the worst; she was the one who had assigned them the mission, which ultimately led to their deaths. She was brought out of her misery when Naruto spoke.

"Hokage-sama, I will take my leave of you now."

"Naruto, tell your squad that they have four days off to rest. As for you, I don't want you to wear your mask for those four days," Tsunade firmly stated.

"Why?"

"Your friends have been asking about you lately. I'm getting tired of telling them that you're still out of the village training."

"Fine. I need to go now," Naruto said before he walked out of Tsunade's office.

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Tsunade sighed and covered her face with her hands.

"Tsunade-sama, are you okay?" Shizune asked.

"No. Did I do the right thing?"

"Tsunade-sama?"

"Did I do the right thing by putting Naruto in charge of Kuro Mizu?"

"I…I don't see how it couldn't be. They are successful, are they not? That is the reason why you haven't been handing out as many S and A-class missions to the Jounin correct?"

"That's the problem! I made him the Commander of Kuro Mizu just before he was eighteen. Think of how many people he's had to kill…the things that he's had to see. I'm sure that he's killed more people than all of his classmates combined," Tsunade whispered.

"Tsu-chan, being in Kuro Mizu is the best thing for him right now. He's stronger than all of his peers, so he would be in ANBU right now even if you didn't put him in Kuro Mizu. We both know that we can't keep him locked up in the village to protect him from Akatsuki; he would go crazy and try to run away or something. Being in Kuro Mizu gives him the chance to still go out of the village on missions," Jiraiya said soothingly.

"Maybe you're right, but what he has to do is killing him. As Commander of Kuro Mizu, he has to be so serious, unlike how he acts without his ANBU mask on. I'm afraid that he's starting to lose sight of how he used to be. You both heard him call me Hokage-sama without the mask on; the Naruto I know would never show me any sign of respect. What do we do if this…'ANBU side' starts to take over his personality?"

Jiraiya let out a harsh laugh as he heard his teammate's question. "Don't tell me that you actually thought that Naruto wasn't wearing an emotional mask!"

"Of course I knew! There's no way his 'ANBU side' is his true personality though!"

"Why can't it be?"

"That side is…well, emotionless!"

"Wouldn't you be emotionless too if you went through what he did as a child?"

"You know damn well as I do that Naruto's willpower is stronger than both of ours combined!"

"I don't give a damn how strong his willpower is! Get someone with a willpower ten times as strong as his, and that person will still turn out emotionless! Naruto's firm willpower did save this village though. Because of his determination, Naruto never went on a killing spree or attacked the village out of revenge," Jiraiya countered.

Tsunade and Shizune both started to tear up as they realized that what Jiraiya said was true. Shizune covered her mouth with one hand as she realized how scarred Naruto was due to his prior treatment.

"What…what can we do for him Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked. She wasn't about to see the person that so closely resembled her little brother and possibly her son be harmed by the very village he protected.

"Honestly? I don't know. Find a girl maybe."

Tsunade's eyes widened. "Find a girl?! You damn pervert, this is no time for jokes!"

"I'm not joking! Damn, don't you think his burden would be easier to bear if he had someone he could talk to, someone that he loved?"

Tsunade thought about it. While her teammate had probably meant his comment in a perverted way, it would be entirely possible that it would work.

"Hmm…maybe you're right, maybe you're right."

"Ano, Tsunade-sama? I'd like to know more about Kuro Mizu. Would you have a file that I could read?"

"I guess. You have to promise that what you read you won't tell anyone else."

"Hai!"

Tsunade reached into her desk and pulled out a folder. Running through a few hand seals, she ended the sequence by placing her right hand on the folder. The folder started to glow brightly for a few seconds before the light died down.

"Here you go. This isn't everything, I have on them though. Their identities for one are kept a secret along with several other things. And please don't take that folder out of this room. You can just read it here," Tsunade stated.

Shizune eagerly opened the folder to learn more about the enigmatic group that little Naruto-kun was in charge of.

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Kuro Mizu

This special ANBU squad was created with the sole purpose of defeating Akatsuki (for more information on Akatsuki, refer to the Akatuski file). Secondary objectives are to cause as much damage to Otogakure as possible, kill Orochimaru and Kabuto (for more information on Orochimaru, refer to Konoha's nuke-nin file), and retrieve or kill Uchiha Sasuke (for more information on Uchiha Sasuke, refer to Uchiha Sasuke's file).

Members:

Kuro Mizu consists of twelve members. Each is classified as at least an A-class shinobi.

1. Fenikkusu: Phoenix mask, gold cloak. Commander of Kuro Mizu. Specializes in fuinjutsu. Skilled in the use of multiple weapons. Gender: Male

2. Wani: Crocodile mask, white cloak. Captain of Kuro Mizu, serves as second-in-command. Specializes in all types of water battles. Weapon of choice: two large jaw-like pinchers. Gender: Female

3. Feretto: Ferret mask, black cloak. Specializes in infiltration. Weapon of choice: blowdart and push knives. Gender: Female

4. Tora: Tiger mask, red cloak. Specializes in assassination. Weapon of choice: two katars. Gender: Male

5. Tokage: Lizard mask, green cloak. Specializes in healing. Weapon of choice: manriki. Gender: Female

6. Saru: Monkey mask, gray cloak. Specializes in taijutsu. Weapon of choice: spiked cestuses. Gender: Male

7. Zou: Elephant mask, blue cloak. Specializes in ninjutsu. Weapon of choice: N/A; however, does carry modified armor. Armor allows storage of chakra; can be released into wearer at a later time. Gender: Male

8. Ookami: Wolf mask, silver cloak. Specializes in tracking. Weapon of choice: Longbow. Bowstring has multiple minute storage seals, which hold numerous arrows. Gender: Female

9. Fukurou: Owl mask, purple cloak. Specializes in genjutsu. Weapon of choice: Blow-darts coated with paralysis poison. Gender: Female

10. Sai: Rhino mask, orange cloak. Specializes in kenjutsu. Weapon of choice: Two katanas with the ability to flow one's elemental chakra through it. Gender: Female

11. Jaga: Jaguar mask, beige cloak. Specializes in speed. Weapon of choice: Meteor hammer. Gender: Male

12. Doragon: Dragon mask, teal cloak. Specializes in heavy combat. Weapon of choice: Battle hammer. Gender: Male

--------------------------------------------

"H-hokage-sama…Naruto-kun is really in charge of all these shinobi?"

"Hai."

"Aren't you worried that the members of Kuro Mizu might not like listening to someone almost half their age?"

Tsuande laughed. "Are you joking? Didn't you notice how they don't do anything unless he tells them to?"

"What? I saw them leave the office when you asked them to."

"They left after Naruto subtly brought his head to his right. No, insubordination is the least of Naruto's problem. All of the members of Kuro Mizu are fiercely loyal to him," Tsunade stated, "Of all the things that happened when I put Naruto in charge of Kuro Mizu, maybe earning the undying loyalty of his subordinates was the best thing to happen."

"How many people know their identities?"

"Outside of Kuro Mizu? Just me. Not even Jiraiya knows who they all are. Like I said before, they are all extremely loyal to one another. As such, they trust each other with their identities, and trust that they will not reveal it. The three of us are the only people not in Kuro Mizu that know that Naruto is Fenikkusu; that is a deeply guarded secret, and it must remain as such."

"If they are really as loyal to him as you think they are Tsunade-sama, then placing him in charge of Kuro Mizu _was_ the best thing to do."

------------------------------------------------

Naruto sighed as he stepped out of the Hokage Tower. He felt vulnerable without his mask on. For a moment, Naruto thought of heading to the training grounds, but quickly dismissed that thought. If, or rather when, Baachan found out that he was training on his break, then she would scold him…again. Since training was out of the option, he decided to stop by Ichiraku.

As he walked to his favorite ramen stand, Naruto remembered why he loved wearing his mask. With his mask on, Naruto was just another nameless ANBU, a shinobi who took on the most difficult missions to protect the village. People looked at him with respect when he had his mask on. Without his mask on, people stared at him with disgust and hate in their eyes. Oh, the irony; if only they knew that he was an ANBU member.

When he walked into Ichiraku, he smiled. It had been far too long since he had eatere here.

"Naruto! Welcome back! How as your training trip?"

'Training trip? Baachan must've told everyone that I was out of the village for a training trip. That would make it what, my tenth training trip?' "Good, I learned some new jutsus!" Naruto decided to play along.

"Really Naruto-kun? You must know enough now to fill a library!" exclaimed Ayame as she walked out of the kitchen to greet him.

"Maybe. Could I get four bowls of Miso ramen to go?" Naruto decided to eat his food elsewhere because he noticed that the stall was about half-full. Many of those who ate at Ichiraku hated Naruto, and would leave the stall if he stayed there to eat. Naruto wasn't about to let Teuchi lose any business because of him.

Teuchi frowned. He knew why Naruto wanted his ramen to go. "Naruto," he started.

Naruto raised up his hands," Ne, ne, I want to go look at the sakura trees. They're blooming now, right?"

"Awww, does little Naru-chan have a soft side to him?" Teuchi teased.

Naruto stared grimly at Teuchi. "After shedding as much blood as I have, you tend to enjoy the peaceful things in life," he responded tersely.

Teuchi froze. Because of Naruto's cheerful disposition, it was hard to remember that he was a shinboi. He was about to apologize when he heard Naruto laugh.

"Hahaha, you should've seen the look on your face!" Naruto's laughter was cut short when Ayame spoke up.

"Are you going by yourself? You wouldn't happen to be going with a young lady who's been asking about you lately, would you? In fact, she's been pining over your absence ever since you left," Ayame stated with a sparkle in her eyes. It was Teuchi's turn to laugh as he saw Naruto start to turn bright red.

"Hahaha, little Naruto-chan finally got himself a girl!" Teuchi chanted.

"S-shut up! Just give me my ramen!"

"Here you go Naruto-kun. I packed an extra pair of chopsticks so you two can share! Oh, and I gave you some extra napkins. Do remember to use them; you wouldn't want to kiss her with ramen broth all over your face do you?" Ayame said as she handed him the bag with his ramen.

"Bah, if I knew I was going to be teased, then I would've never come here," Naruto grumbled. He placed several bills on the counter before walking out of the stand.

"So, who's his girlfriend?" Teuchi asked.

"I can't tell you. I don't think they're dating…yet. I saw them together the other day, and they seem to be really close. It won't be long before they start to date though!"

-----------------------------------------

Naruto's face was still burning as he left Ichiraku andheaded towards one of Konoha's park. He didn't want to know how Ayame found out that he was getting ready to ask a certain someone to be his girlfriend.

As he entered the park, Naruto closed his eyes and paused to take a deep breathe. He loved the smell of sakura trees blooming. When he opened his eyes, he saw a beautiful sight. The flowers were just blooming and a stream trickled by. The most beautiful part of the scene however, wasn't the nature.

Standing underneath one of the sakura trees was a young woman…the object of his affections. She stood motionless underneath one of the trees with her back to him. Even though Naruto couldn't see her face, he still marveled in her beauty. Her hair was flowing in the wind, and she had her hands clasped behind her back with her head held high, as if she were staring into the heavens itself.

Naruto silently walked forward. He didn't want to disturb the peaceful scene until he was forced to. When he got closer, he coughed to alert her of his presence. Instantly, she turned around. When she saw who it was, a smile graced her face.

"How you doing Hinata-chan?"

"F-fine. It's good to see you again N-naruto-kun. H-how was your training trip?"

"Tiring. I went on a lot of missions too, I didn't just train out in the middle of nowhere like the first time."

"M-missions?" instantly, Hinata was worried and confused, "But didn't you leave for your training trip in order to prevent Akatsuki from capturing you?"

"Hai, but these were fine. I was in no danger at all," he reassured her.

She frowned. She knew that he was lying, but she knew better than to argue with him. If he had gotten injured on his mission, then he wouldn't tell her. It was just so typical of him, trying to bear the world's burden on his shoulders without asking for help.

"Here you go Hinata-chan," Naruto said as he sat down on the ground and motioned for her to sit as well, "I stopped by Ichiraku and got an extra bowl of ramen in case you were here and hungry."

Hinata smiled as she sat down and accepted the bowl of ramen. As they ate, she couldn't believe her luck. Here she was, eating next to Naruto-kun, the man of her dreams. She didn't know how or why, but the two of them had started to spend a lot more time together. About three months ago, Naruto had met her at one of the training grounds. Thy started training together, and before she knew it, he asked her to eat with him at Ichiraku. Things only escalated from there until they both realized that they shard a love of watching the sakura trees blossom.

"Are you gonna be busy for the next few days Hinata-chan?"

"H-hai. K-kurenai-s-sensei scheduled multiple training sessions. Our l-last m-mission d-d-didn't go t-too well," she answered.

"Oh. That sucks. I have four days to rest here before I have to go back out on another training trip."

Hinata's mood instantly soured. It wasn't fair! How come Naruto-kun had to leave so soon! He hadn't been in Konoha for weeks! She had been hoping that something more would come from their training sessions, but if he had to keep on going on missions then that wouldn't happen!

"W-why are you l-leaving s-s-so soon?"

"I need to get stronger. You know that Akatsuki is after me, right?"

"H-hai. Because of the K-kyuubi, right?" 

"Partly. The other reason is because I killed Sasori several years ago," Naruto explained.

"I remember that. T-that w-w-was shortly a-after you r-returned from your first training t-t-trip, correct?" seeing Naruto nod, she continued, "S-sakura-san w-w-was complaining f-for s-several d-d-days because s-she wouldn't be k-known f-for defeating a S-rank nuke-nin."

"Hai, she gave me quite a few bruises for taking her 'glory'. She wouldn't have wanted to have the kill to her name though."

"W-why n-not? Many would l-love to be k-known as the o-one who defeated a S-rank nuke-nin."

"Not if the nuke-nin was from Akatsuki. If you kill one of their members, then they will start to hunt you like a tiger hunts a deer. It's not fun having to look over your shoulder everywhere you go, which was why I 'stole' her glory" explained Naruto.

"Y-you…thought of all this when you decided to k-kill S-sasori?" questioned Hinata with wide eyes.

"Hai. I knew that if Sakura-chan killed Sasori then she would be hunted by the rest of Akatsuki. She wasn't, and isn't, ready for that. Can you honestly see her training until she passes out, only to get up and train again? Can you see her learning jutsus for hours on end and then training in taijutsu when she barely has enough chakra to stand? Can you see her fighting numerous A-rank shinobi who want to make a name for themselves by killing someone who has killed a S-rank nuke-nin?"

"I'll be the first to admit that the Sakura-chan we know now is much different than the Sakura-chan that graduated from the Academy, but we still know that she likes to be a regular girl too. Even though she works at the hospital, she still likes to have her nails done, or whatever it is that civilian girls like to do. She's strong, but mentally, I don't think she would be able to survive if she had killed Sasori."

"It's really tough you know. Everywhere I go, I'm always looking over my shoulder; I've been jumped by shinobi out there to make a name for themselves more times than I can count. I've been attacked by Akatsuki and barely escaped with my life, while I barely even scratched them. I've trained myself to exhaustion only to wake up a few hours later and do it all again. I have to do that everyday. I highly doubt that Sakura would be able or willing to do that."

Hinata was stunned. She knew that his life was hard, but all of that? That was unbelievable. And to think that he didn't even mention how hard his life had been due to being the carrier of Kyuubi.

"T-that was v-very thoughtful of y-you," Hinata responded. Though she didn't want to admit it, she was very jealous of Sakura-san. If she had been in Sakura-san's place, would Naruto-kun have done the same for her?

"Eh Hinata-chan, I got this for you a while ago, but then I had to leave for my training trip before I could give it to you," Naruto stammered as he held out a clumsily wrapped box.

Hinata reached for the box while her heart started to race. With shaking hands, she slowly unwrapped it and opened the box. Inside was a beautiful silver necklace with a silver heart hanging from the bottom. She gasped; what did this mean?

"A-ano…Naruto-kun…I…d-don't understand," she managed to stutter.

Naruto started to twitch. "Ano…well, would you like to go out with me? Not on a date, but…eh…you know, _go out_ with me? As in…will you be my girlfriend?"

Hinata froze with the necklace in her hands. Oh how she had longed for this day to come! Now, if only she could get over her shock and answer!

Naruto's heart dropped. Hinata was just staring at the necklace. Did that mean she liked it? Did she hate it?

"I…I understand if you don't want to…it was stupid of me to ask. I mean, I won't be in Konoha very often…at least, not until Akatsuki is defeated. Just…just forget I asked okay? I'll leave you alone from now on," Naruto said, gazing at the ground. Suddenly, his whole body stiffened.

Hinata blinked. What happened? Everything was going so well! Did he think that her silence was denial? She opened her mouth and was about to set Naruto straight when they both heard a shriek.

She looked up to see where the noise had originated from, out of instinct, not because she had to see what made the noise. Any seasoned Konoha shinobi was able to recognize the shriek of a hawk, because it meant that all shinobi were needed to meet at the Hokage Tower.

"N-naruto-kun…let's go…Naruto-kun?" When Hinata looked back towards Naruto, he was gone. All that was left was a dust trail leading towards the Hokage Tower.

'_Was he so serious about leaving me alone that he didn't even want to wait for me? I need to talk to him as soon as I can,' _resolved Hinata.

--------------------------------------------------------

Naruto quickly reached the Hokage Tower. He could see numerous shinobi gathering outside the Hokage Tower, waiting to see what the alarm was. Instead of waiting outside with the others, he went inside the Hokage Tower.

Security inside the Hokage Tower was still as secure as it was just a few hours ago. He wasn't stopped by any of the ANBU members, so he assumed that Baachan had told them to let him through.

He barged straight into the office. Inside were Jiraiya and Tsunade, who seemed to be waiting for him.

"Which team?"

"Huh?" Tsunade said. They hadn't said anything yet, and Naruto was already asking questions.

"I felt two rather large chakra signatures, so I assumed that an Akatsuki team was near. Do we know which team it is?" Naruto explained.

Tsunade stared in amazement. Had she been so preoccupied that she hadn't realized how greatly Naruto's skills had improved?

"Deidara and that Tobi guy," Jiraiya answered.

Naruto quickly formed several hand seals. A small golden phoenix composed entirely of chakra emerged in front of him. It went through the window and disappeared in the distance.

"My signal. Kuro Mizu will assemble and be ready for battle within two minutes. They will listen to your commands Baachan."

"What? Why won't they listen to you?" Tsunade asked.

"I'm not going to be joining them for this. I have to be seen as Uzumaki Naruto, not Fenikkusus."

"And why is that?"

"People have already seen me walking around. I need to be there with either Kakashi-sensei or Ero-sennin. You know as well as I do that I have to be outside due to the general distress call. Unless you want to tell everyone that I'm Fenikkusu," Naruto reasoned.

"You're right, but we need you out there fighting. You are one of the few that have experience fighting not only Akatsuki but Deidara," Tsunade stated.

"Then I'll go engaged them alongside Kuro Mizu. Just have Ero-sennin come with us. That way, if anyone asks why I was there you can just say that you sent Ero-sennin and me to back up Kuro Mizu."

"That's a good idea. Okay you two, off you go!"

"Wait. Tsu-chan, you sure you can handle Konoha's defense by yourself?"

"Yes, I can. I'll just place more shinobi to guard the perimeter of this village and organize the remaining shinobi into strike teams. Now go!" Tsunade yelled.

As soon as she finished her statement, the two were gone.

'This is bad…is Akatsuki getting that desperate that they would risk being noticed by an entire village just to get Naruto?'

-------------------------------------------------

"Okay gaki, how do you suppose that we sneak out of Konoha while it's still in lockdown?" questioned Jiraiya.

"We don't need to sneak out. All we have to do is go right through. They'll let you out, and since I'm with you, they'll let me out. Besides, they can tell others that they saw me leave with you."

"Okay, but what about Kuro Mizu? Will we meet up with the rest of your team before or after we leave?"

"They'll meet up with us later. Tokage-chan will be able to sense where Deidara and Tobi are. When they see me, they'll know not to blow my cover," Naruto answered.

The two ran up and over the wall, and the guards didn't try to stop them just like Naruto had said. As soon as they were outside, they jumped up a tree and started traveling from branch to branch.

The two traveled roughly a thousand yards before they suddenly stopped. There should have been numerous trees in front of them; instead, all that remained were stumps and piles of wood. In the midst of the recently cleared field stood Deidara and Tobi.

"So the Kyuubi-jinchuuriki finally decided to show himself, yeah?" Deidara stated, "It'll be nice to get some payback. After you killed Sasori, I got stuck with this freak!"

"Ah, Deidara-senpai, don't be so mean!" wailed Tobi.

"Shut up! It's time for me to show you…why art is best when it's instantaneous!" Deidara yelled before he threw two small clay pigeons at Naruto and Jiraiya.

The two Konoha shinobi jumped away just as the two birds exploded. The fifty foot tree that they had been standing on was completely decimated. Naruto's eyes narrowed in thought.

"Your explosives have gotten much more powerful…haven't they Deidara-chan?"

"Hell ya they have! And I'm a guy yeah!"

"Your hair makes you look like a girl…are you sure you're not a gender-bender?"

Tobi started laughing. He immediately stopped when he felt Deidara's gaze land upon him. "Sorry Deidara-senpai, but the jinchuuriki is right! I think you look like a girl too!" Tobi quickly explained.

"Hmmph…after this we're going to have a long discussion about why I'm leader of this team, yeah!" He started to reach into his clay pouch to mold another bomb. "This one will blow your minds away…literally! Hey! Where's my clay pouch?!" he yelled looking around. _'Jiraiay and the jinchuuriki haven't moved…Tobi doesn't have the balls to steal my pouch…during a mission that is. That means that it was someone else!'_

Deidara heard a whirling sound behind and instinctively rolled to his right. When he looked to where he had once stood, there was a circular hole about five inches in diameter. He heard the sound again, but this time it was coming from his left. Just before he rolled forward, he saw a beige flash. Looking back to where he was a few seconds ago, he saw another hole of the same size.

"The hell is going on?" Deidara screamed.

"Deidara-senpai, should I help?" Tobi questioned.

"No! This is my fight! Just go hide or something!" Deidara yelled back.

As Tobi started to climb up a tree, Deidara heard a whistling sound. He looked around; strange, this time the noise was different. As the sound grew louder, Deidara felt a chill creep up his spine; he was in danger! He instantly threw himself to the ground just as several arrows punctured a tree behind him. Deidara pushed himself up, but before he could look for the source of the arrows he was knocked back down…painfully.

"Hehehe…you're the first person whose head wasn't smashed to pulp after I used my meteor hammer! This is going to be fun!" Jaga stated as he held it loosely at his side.

"Your weapon is ugly…allow me to decorate it for you!" Deidara yelled as he threw numerous clay bugs at Jaga. Each clay bug attached themselves to the spiked ball of Jaga's meteor hammer.

"What will you do now? When they explode, your precious weapon will too! In fact, you'll be caught in the explosion!"

In response, Jaga started swinging his weapon around his head.

"The bugs won't come off! You're just wasting your energy by swinging it around!" Deidara exclaimed. Deidara sent out a chakra burst before exclaiming, "You have five seconds before my pieces of art explode! You're done for!"

Suddenly, the spiked ball from Jaga's weapon detached itself and went flying towards Deidara. Deidara threw himself to the ground on his stomach and covered his head with his arms. It wouldn't do for him to be killed from his own attack!

With an ear-shattering explosion, the spiked ball was no more. Deidara felt several sharp sensations all over his body. His eyes widened as he realized what they were. _'Kuso, the metal fragments from that fool's weapon was supposed to harm him, not me!'_

"That was a pretty big explosion. One question though; where did you get the clay from? I stole your pouch," complained Jaga.

"So that was you, yeah? Well, ever since that Shukaku jinchuuriki incident, I decided to carry more clay with me all the time. I'm not gonna tell you how many pouches I have, but lets just say that I have a lot more, yeah?"

"Couldn't you have just said that you had more than one pouch? You must've been talking for four jiffies; we could've been fighting then!" Jaga stated while he pulled another spiked ball from behind his cloak and attached it to his meteor hammer.

"Hmph...you're right yeah. Let me show you…why art is a bang!"

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"Tsunade-sama, the six members of Kuro Mizu that you requested to stay behind have split into two groups. Two of the members are on patrol just outside of the village, while the remaining members are hidden outside," Shizune reported.

"Hiding? I don't think that's an effective tactic. We should have them all patrolling inside Konoha," Tsunade responded with a frown.

"That's what I said, but apparently they've used this tactic before and it worked with great results. And it was Nar…I mean Fenikkusu-san who came up with the plan!"

"Hmmm….well, in that case we should hope for the best," Tsunade responded. "What is the status on the civilian evacuation?"

"It is progressing rather quickly. The civilian population has been divided into eight groups, and each group is waiting at the safe zone. If they need to be evacuated, then it will take less than a minute for them to reach their assigned escape route," Shizune informed Tsunade.

"That's good to know. Hopefully we won't have to evacuate them, but this is Akatsuki we're dealing with; they're the most unpredictable shinobi ever."

Shizune frowned as she thought of Naruto. Over the past few years, she had gone on a few missions with him; his battle tactics were based solely on the fact that his opponents would underestimate him. She thought of how he revealed his true identity as Fenikkusu.

"Tsunade-sama, I have to disagree with you. Akatsuki can not be more unpredictable than Naruto-kun," Shizune argued.

"Hmm…perhaps you're right. Naruto is rather surprising."

----------------------------------------------------------

Deidara was on his hands and knees panting heavily. He struggled to breathe; every breath he took burned his lungs. Deidara had rapidly forming bruises all over his body along with multiple puncture wounds. Had his opponent been using a traditional meteor hammer, then there was a very good chance that he would be missing both arms.

Jaga's meteor hammer had a much smaller spiked ball than the traditional one. The purpose of traditional meteor hammers was to kill an opponent in one hit. With this weapon, the power behind each blow had to be rather high and due to the large size of the spiked ball, it traveled slower. Well, slower in Jaga's eyes. To counteract the negatives of the weapon and still use such a cool tool, Jaga had his meteor hammer custom made.

Instead of a large spiked ball, he had a small spiked ball, roughly six inches in diameter. Though the small size let him swing it around faster, it also reduced the power of each strike. Unless he really tried, he wouldn't be able to decapitate anyone with it. But Jaga didn't mind; after all, he wasn't some savage who went around killing people with a whirling chain of death. He preferred to use his meteor hammer to make sure that his opponents were unable to move and then throw a kunai or two to kill them.

Jaga stood in front of Deidara lazily swinging his weapon back and forth. He tilted his head to his right. He knew that in terms of skill he would probably be a high A-class shinobi and all the members of Akatsuki were high S-class nuke-nin. If that was true, then why did he have such an easy time beating Deidara?

"Oi, are you sure you're in Akatsuki?" questioned Jaga.

"You blind? Look at the cloak yeah!" Deidara responded indignantly.

"Okay, I guess you're in Akatsuki. Are there two groups of Akatsuki? You know, like the training to join Akatsuki and then the real Akatsuki."

"No. Why the hell are you asking these damn questions? If you want to interrogate me, you're supposed to torture me first yeah. Go back to Konoha and learn how to interrogate people properly."

"You're not very good at insulting people are you? As for why I'm asking all these questions, I just don't understand how you can be part of Akatsuki," Jaga explained.

"And why the hell can't I be in Akatsuki? Just because I don't use traditional jutsus?" Deidara was beyond pissed. This nameless ANBU was getting to be very annoying.

"Because you're not skilled at all! The only way you can win a fight is if you surprise your opponent from the air because you're flying on a freakin' clay bird or because no one expects your clay figures to be explosives or how large the explosion is!"

"Your weakness is one of the Sharingan's weakness: speed. If someone is fast enough to stop you from molding your clay, steal your clay, or run out of the blast radius, then you're useless! You don't look strong or fast, so you can't be a taijutsu specialist, and if you were a ninjutsu or genjutsu specialist, then you would've used some jutsu in an attempt to slow me down!"

"In fact, you're like a human Sharingan! You're absolutely useless once all the fancy aspects about you are taken away. Besides your ability to animate clay figures and cause them to explode, you're actually the weak link in your team. Same with the Sharingan; the user tended to become so caught up with the power of the Sharingan that they would lose sight of what was important. You're just as important to your team as the Uchiha were to Konoha!"

"Since you aren't from Konoha, I'll explain it to you. The Uchiha were worthless! They spent their time walking around the village wearing their freshly pressed police uniforms and pretended that they were actually doing something when they were actually using their Sharingan to copy techniques from people on the training grounds!"

Deidara lost it when Jaga started to explain his reasons. It was one thing to fight someone with emotionless eyes like Itachi, but it was entirely different to fight someone that looked down on you. Hate bubbled forth form Deidara and it felt like he was going to explode from all the hate he felt towards this one guy.

'_I was going to save this to use on Itachi, but this guy…he makes me even angrier than I was when I fought Itachi!'_

With a heave, Deidara pushed himself off the ground. In the background, he thought he heard Tobi yell, "Ya! Deidara-senpai, I knew you would get up!" He tuned Tobi's voice out. '_Sorry Tobi…but I gotta do this.'_ He reached up and ripped his shirt off, revealing a large mouth on his chest.

Jaga just stared at him, blinking rapidly though Deidara was unable to see his face due to his mask. "The hell did you rip your shirt off for? There aren't any muscles to intimidate me or boobs to distract me….Ah, hell no! I'm not gay! I'm not gay!" Jaga yelled.

--------------------------------------------------

Deidara would've responded to Jaga's statement, but he was busy filling his chest mouth with two packs of clay. "You…I'm going to kill you!"

That being said, Deidara started to grow in size. After a few seconds, he was taller than most of the trees in the surrounding area and thicker than two of the trees combined. He looked like an oversized balloon.

Jiraiya was stunned. If what he thought Deidara was doing was correct, then they were all screwed. Without facing Naruto, Jiraiya stated, "Gaki, summon Gamabunta. Get your teammates on him as well as yourself before you have him jump as high and as far as he can. You should be shielded from most of the explosion."

"Oh, and why don't you summon him Jiraiya-sensei?"

"Heh, you called me 'sensei'. You getting soft?"

"No. This is a serious situation. I'm not going to wear my mask in a situation as serious as this."

"Ha! I knew you were wearing a mask. Damn, I should have made a bet with Tsu-chan."

"Enough. Answer my question."

"…I'm gonna use Swamp of the Underworld to try and bury him. It probably won't bury him completely, but it should lessen the explosion. You know I can't get too far away from the targeted area or the jutsu will fail," Jiraiya answered.

"And you will die when he explodes."

"Hai. My death is an acceptable loss. Your squad…more specifically your death is _not_ an acceptable loss. We both know that you are more powerful than me. When the war with Oto finally starts, Konoha will need an ANBU squad like yours to defend it. They won't need an old man like me."

"Konoha may not need you…but Tsunade-sama needs you."

"The hell you talking about? I taught you enough during our training trips that you can take over my spy network. And you annoy her just as much as I do. She'll get by without me."

"Maybe…or maybe not."

"I answered your question so now it's your turn to answer my question!"

Naruto glanced at the rapidly growing Deidara. He didn't have time to explain. If his plan was to work, then he had to initiate it now.

"You write books and make more money than I can count off of your Icha Icha series. I have read your writing, and while I can do better you are not a bad writer by any means."

Jiraiya's right eye started to twitch. Was the gaki going to answer his question or insult him? However, as much as he would like to, he wasn't able to deny the facts. Naruto was an extremely talented writer. It was just too bad that he wasn't interested in writing for his series full time.

"Writers are strange people. They must be, in order to write well. Normal people just don't have enough imagination to write well. Your writing skills are not in question though. How well are your acting skills?" Naruto asked cryptically.

Jiraiya just blinked. "I'm not a damn actor, I'm a writer! Give me a straight answer Gaki! I gave you a simple answer, why can't you?"

Naruto chuckled. "If I get out of this alive…then I will give you a hint."

Jiraiya tore his gaze off of Deidara and turned to face Naruto. "Of course you're going to be alive Gaki, you'll be at least a hundred feet in the air!"

"Will I now?" Naruto questioned as he slammed a kunai into the trunk of the tree they were standing on.

"Yes you will be! Now get your ass back here before I make you!" Jiraiya yelled as he saw Naruto start to walk towards Deidara. He tried to catch Naruto before the idiot got himself killed, but he wasn't able to move.

Jiraiya looked down and noticed that there was a glowing seal around his feet_. 'Damn it, I should never have gotten Naruto interested in fuinjutsu…but considering his heritage, I guess it was inevitable.'_

"Kuso! Naruto, get your ass back here! You're too young to die!" Jiraiya yelled. _'Just like the Yondaime'_ he thought.

"Jiraiya-sensei…if I don't make it back, go to my apartment. Look on the wall for a seal that you taught me. Undo it, and my will is there. By the way, thought you might like this," Naruto stated as he tossed a package to Jiraiya.

"You're not going to die!" Jiraiya yelled as he grabbed the package. He didn't open it; he had more important things to do, like convincing Naruto not to go on a suicide run.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Inside my will are several scrolls. Make sure that they get delivered to the right people. Even you won't be able to mess that up; their names are on the scrolls."

Jiraiya could only stare helplessly as his sole student ran towards Deidara. Suddenly, Jaga appeared next to him.

"Don't worry about the Commander! He's done more dangerous stuff than this and lived!" Jaga shouted enthusiastically.

"But he's never faced a massive human explosive before," Ookami stated.

"Well, there's a first time for everything," Jaga responded.

"Where's the rest of your squad?" Jiraiya asked.

"Half of us are back at Konoha, helping with patrols and the defense. By the way, I'm Jaga in case you couldn't tell from my mask. It's an honor to meet you Jiraiya-sama. I've learned so much from your books!"

Normally Jiraiya would be ecstatic that he had found a new loyal reader, but his student's health took priority…even if he didn't seem to care about his health most of the time.

"Bah, don't look so glum Jiraiya-sama!"

"Jaga, I have to watch my student run off to his death. I've experience it once, and I don't want to have to go through it again!"

"Open the package that the Commander gave you," Ookami stated soothingly.

Jiraiya ripped the paper off the package. His eyes widened as he saw what was inside the package. "H-how? W-when?"

"Hmm…about six months ago. We were on a seek and destroy mission when we were ambushed by four Oto squads. It was really bad because we had just wiped out two outposts, so we were all a little tired. Then the Commander saved us all by using those," Ookami answered.

"As for how…you'd have to ask him! See? Nothing can go wrong!" Jaga stated confidently.

"Yeah…maybe you're right. Jaga, the next time we meet, bring me your Icha Icha collection and I'll sign them for you," Jiraiya stated with a grin.

Ookami just shook her head in disbelief as Jaga started to jump up and down in joy.

Jiraiya smiled as he looked down at the content of the package. _'Minato…you would be so proud. I don't know how your son did it, which makes it even more amazing.'_

Jiraiya finally looked up and saw Naruto rapidly approaching Deidara. He let a small smile cross his face, for with the knowledge that he now had, he knew that Naruto had the best chance of surviving. He stuck Naruto's gift into a pocket inside his vest, where he placed all of his most valued possessions.

It was rather ironic that Naruto's gift ended up to the Yondaime's gift. Who would've guessed that they gave him the same gift, only separated by about twenty years. As Jiraiya shifted in his spot, still unable to move, the two three-pronged kunai lightly clinked as they hit one another. Like father, like son he supposed.

--------------------------------------------

"Oh, so the Kyuubi-jinchuuriki wants to die?" the enormous Deidara shouted as he saw Naruto sprinting towards him.

Naruto didn't bother to respond. He came to a stop as he put a hand on Deidara's leg…or at least, he thought it was a leg, it could've been his stomach for all he knew. Naruto closed his eyes and focused, forcing everything in his mind out so that all was left was a black space. Suddenly, numerous bright lights lit the black space.

'Hmm…not much time left, but I have to go as far as I can. If I can, I should try to get as close to the Konoha-Oto border as I can,' Naruto mused. He picked a bright light that was less than a quarter of a mile away from the border.

Deidara was confused. He didn't know why the Kyuubi-jinchuuriki was touching him. Suddenly, he felt a large amount of chakra being concentrated.

"Hah, no jutsu can stop me now yeah!" Deidara yelled confidently.

"Who said anything about stopping you?" questioned Naruto.

"Wha-?" Deidara managed to make out before he saw a bright flash of yellow. Then he saw no more.

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"Ha, I'd like to see an Akatsuki freak try to attack! I'll take him down!" Kiba shouted confidently as Team Eight patrolled on top of the walls.

"Kiba-san, all of the members of Akatsuki are S-ranked nuke-nins. You are a high-level Chuunin. Think it through; you have no chance of winning a fight," Shino stated to get his teammate to be quiet.

Kiba's mood soured once again. Normally, reconassince teams such as theirs would be patrolling outside the walls, not on top of the walls. However, the Hokage had ordered that all of Konoha's shinobi remain inside. If he was able to patrol outside, then he would've been able to kill one of the members of Akatsuki. Then they would have to promote him to Jounin, not to mention that it would impress everyone, primarily Hinata.

It also didn't help that the requirements for rank advancement increased due to the hostilities between Konoha and Oto. If the Hokage hadn't established the new rule, which raised the bar of all advancements, then he would've been a Jounin years ago. Hell, by this time he could've been in ANBU!

"Hmph. You don't know how hard I've been training these past few years!" Kiba retorted. "Besides, Naruto was able to kill an Akatsuki member almost four years ago! If that dobe could take an Akatsuki member down four years ago, then there's no way I would lose now!" Kiba responded.

"Need I remind you that you lost to the so called 'dobe' back during the preliminary matches during our first Chuunin Exam?" Shino coldly stated back. He knew that Kiba saw Naruto as a rival for Hinata's heart, but insulting someone behind their back was dishonorable.

"As interesting as this conversation is, we must remain quiet and stay on guard for anything unusual," Kureani gently chided her team.

Kiba just sighed. Patrolling the walls was a job for Genin, not Chuunin! He saw a flash of movement in the corner of his eye. His head snapped towards the fast moving object. "Kurenai-sensei! I see someone!"

Kurenai immediately started to bark out orders. "Get down! Hinata, start looking for them! Shino, send out your scouts! Kiba, Akamaru, start sniffing!"

Everyone ducked down, including Kiba though he ducked down a bit reluctantly.

"Ano…Kurenai-sensei…t-the figure…there are t-two members of K-kuro Mizu," Hinata stated, relieved. She let her Byakugan fade from her eyes.

"What the hell are they doing outside of the walls?" Kiba asked indignantly.

"Given their mission, I assume that Tsunade-sama gave them special permission to be outside," Kurenai calmly stated.

Kiba's eyes narrowed. Why was it that the Hokage had so much faith in their abilities but not his? He was the Inuzuka clan heir! He had to be powerful!

"K-kiba-kun…you m-must calm down," Hinata gently stated placing her hand on his arm in an attempt to calm him down.

Kiba was in heaven. Hinata was touching him! She was touching him! Finally, he had an advantage over the dobe!

"Hinata-san is correct Kiba-san. Your killing intent would alert potential enemies to our location," Shino informed him.

"Is it clear over here?"

Hinata nearly jumped out of her skin while Kiba and Akamaru nearly sprained their necks by twisting to look towards the voice so quickly. Only Kurenai and Shino seemed to be unsurprised by Sakura's sudden appearance.

"H-hai." She didn't mention the two members of Kuro Mizu because she wasn't sure if Sakura should know of Kuro Mizu or not. She didn't want Sakura to go hunting for answers; she knew how persistent she could be.

"Oh, okay. Anyways, have any of you seen Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"W-what? W-wasn't h-he w-with you when t-the general d-d-distress c-call c-came?"

"Nope. Everyone from our team was there except for Naruto," she answered. _'And Sasuke-kun'_ she added silently.

"Heh, just like the dobe to run out when the going gets tough!" Kiba remarked.

"Kiba-san, this is not the time to be critical. We all know of Naruto-san's burden, or have you forgotten?" Shino asked coldly.

Kiba rolled his eyes. As if he could forget something as big as that. "How the hell would I forget about a giant murderous nine tail fox?"

"Then you know how dire the consequences can be if he has been captured by Akatsuki," Shino finished.

The members of Team Eight all looked worried. No one knew why Akatsuki wanted the bijuu, but it couldn't be to help everyone. Suddenly, Sai jumped up to the battlements where the small group was conversing.

"Hello fellow comrades. Hello Hag," he stated in his persistent emotionless voice. Sakura's eyes started to twitch before she hit him on the head.

"Baka!" she yelled.

"You know, that wasn't a very good idea Sakura-san. What if he had been knocked unconscious? You wouldn't have been able to hear his message then," Yamato lightly scolded.

Sakura managed to look sheepish. Then what the Jounin told her registered in her brain. She picked Sai up by her neck and shook him like a doll. "Tell me! Where's Naruto?!"

"Why the sudden interest in the Dickless-wonder? I thought you weren't interested in him that way Hag," Sai managed to state as he gathered his thoughts.

Hinata felt as if her heart would stop beating. Was Sakura-san starting to have feelings for Naruto-kun? If so, then she wouldn't stand a chance.

No. She wouldn't think like that. After all, Naruto-kun had given her the necklace she had around her neck and asked her to be his girlfriend, not Sakura-san.

Before Sakura could hit Sai again, Yamato spoke up. "He's with Jiraiya-sama."

"And where is that pervert of a teammate of Tsunade-sensei's?"

Yamato wasn't looking forward to answering Sakura's question. "Um…ah, Kakashi-senpai, there you are! Sakura-san has a question for you!"

Kakashi carefully walked over to the growing group. He carefully gazed at his only female charge with a calculating gaze. "Hmmm…I guess I should have realized that this would happen sooner or later. Well, here you go," he said handing her a packaged, "before I answer any questions, you'll have to read the book first."

Sakura ripped open the package and gasped. She was holding…an Icha Icha book. "What…what the hell is this?"

"Hmmm? It's vital that you read the book. After all, I learned everything about the…birds and bees from the book. If you have anymore questions, you can ask me; I'm more than willing to answer any questions you may have."

"Birds and bees? I wanted to know where Naruto was!" Sakura angrily spluttered.

"Hmm? Well, that's boring. He's with Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi answered.

"That's exactly what Yamato-sensei told me! Where's Jiraiya-sama?!" Sakura asked, slowly flexing her fists.

Kakashi started sweating. He had seen how badly beaten Naruto had been after Sakura had gotten angry at him. Facing her wrath was not something he was looking forward to. He decided to get it over with.

"Well…you see…Jiraiya-sama had to go reinforce a special ANBU squad that went to hunt down the Akatsuki team, and…well, the safest place for Naruto was with Jiraiya," Kakashi stated nervously. He immediately began to gather his chakra slow enough that it would be hard to notice that he was gathering any chakra at all.

"You mean…he gets to fight Akatsuki again?! That is so not fair!" Sakura ranted.

"Hmm? Hey, Hokage-sama is calling! I must be off!" Kakashi said before he used the Shunshin no jutsu to teleport away to safety. Yamato made up another excuse to save Sai and himself from the impending doom.

"Kuso! Now Naruto gets to add another Akatsuki member to his name, and I'm stuck with nothing! I'm still a nobody after eight years of being a shinobi!" _'How the hell is Sasuke-kun supposed to hear about how great of a shinobi I am now?' __**'Don't worry, true love will prevail!' **_Sakura brightened up as she heard her inner self's reassurance.

"Well, I'll see you guys later! I have to get back to my post," Sakura shouted over her shoulder as she walked away.

Kiba snickered. "She left her post just to see where Naruto is? She must be getting rather attached to her," he said loud enough for everyone to hear. He wanted Hinata to see that Sakura was getting closer to Naruto, and given Naruto's affections for the pink-haired girl that there was a high chance of the two hooking up. If…or rather when, the two got together, Hinata would be devastated. He would of course, be there to help comfort her in her time of distress.

"Kiba-san, caring for one's teammates does not indicate that there are feelings stronger than friendship," Shino stated. He was embarrassed that his teammate would resort to such underhand tactics in an attempt to win the heart of their female teammate.

Kiba just snorted. What did Shino know about love? He glanced at the target of his affections to see how she was taking this. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to be fazed at all. Kiba frowned; normally any talk regarding Naruto and Sakura had the beautiful girl frowning. Why wasn't she unsettled now?

Suddenly, a bright light passed over all of them before they heard a large explosion. In the distance, they could see a huge mushroom cloud.

"What…what the hell was that?" Kiba asked with wide eyes.

"I…I don't know. If I had to guess though, I would say that it had to do with Akatsuki," Kureani admitted.

'_Naruto-kun,'_ Hinata thought as she firmly grasped the necklace that Naruto had given her not even an hour ago, '_please stay safe. I never got to answer your question._

---------------------------------------------------------

Jiraiya was worried. He wasn't sure how far Naruto had gone using the Hirashin no Jutsu, but knowing the gaki, he wouldn't have let Deidara explode anywhere near Konoha. The other members of Kuro Mizu (those that he could see anyways), were just as anxious as he was.

"Damn it, where the hell is the gaki?!"

"Don't worry Jiraiya-sama, I'm sure the Commander will be fine," Ookami stated, trying to soothe the irate Sannin once again. Too bad it sounded like she needed to be reassured.

"Well, we won't be able to tell unless he shows up, now can we?"

"I'm so glad to see that you care so much for me." Naruto reached to the trunk of the tree that he had been standing on and pulled out the tri-pronged kunai that he had placed there earlier before collapsing.

When he fell down, everyone managed to get a better look at him. They were all shocked at his condition; Naruto was badly bleeding and had terrible burns all over his body. Jiraiya didn't think he had any clothes on; what was left was probably fused to his body. Before he could ask for there was an iryo-nin, an ANBU with a lizard mask landed right next to Naruto. Her hands were immediately covered with the green glow of medical chakra as she started to heal his wounds. No one spoke as

Tokage bit her bottom lip. The Commander's wounds were terrible. He had third degree burns all over and was bleeding from numerous punctures. She could only assume that the punctures came from debris as he tried to escape the human-turned-bomb. After five minutes, Tokage broke the silence.

"Jaga-kun and Ookami-chan, I need you two to build a stretcher for the Commander," she ordered. "I can't heal him any further, not without more equipment that I can't carry with more. We'll have to bring him to the hospital back at Konoha."

As the two members of Kuro Mizu left to get branches to build a stretcher, Jiraiya put one hand on Tokage's shoulder.

"Wouldn't it be easier and faster if I just summoned a toad?"

"No. Too much movement would worsen the Commander's already critical condition."

Jiraiya just sighed. Naruto was very lucky that Tokage was here. "You did good. Thanks for saving my student."

Tokage just stared at the Gama Sannin. "Your thanks are wasted. I was useless. I couldn't even heal him completely!"

Jiraiya just stared at Tokage. "What? You did better than most iryo-nin can! I may not be able to use any medical techniques myself, but I can recognize talent when I see it."

"Hokage-sama would have been able to heal him completely."

"Hai, she would have. But she's also been healing for years longer than you have. You shouldn't compare your skills to a Sannin's. That's not going to be good for your self-esteem."

Tokage just sighed. "Arigato Jiraiya-sama. I'm sorry for wasting your time. It's just that on this team, I feel so useless."

"Don't worry about it, you're far from useless. I was there when Naruto gave his report on your most recent encounter; if you hadn't been there, then I doubt that the fight against Kakuzu would have gone as well. You know, know that I think of it, Tsu-chan had the same problem as you when we were a team," Jiraiya counseled.

"Thank you for your words Jiraiya-sama. Did Tsunade-sama really have the same problem?"

"Hahaha, did she ever! I don't know how long it took before she was able to use medical chakra correctly. There was a time when Orochimaru and I would wait until we returned to Konoha to be healed rather than let her heal us. This one time I had a slight cut from a katana on my stomach and I let her heal me. The next thing I remember is the white ceiling of the hospital. Turns out that when she activated her chakra scalpels to cut away my shirt to get access to my wound, she cut a bit too deep. Then she couldn't activate the jutsu to stop the bleeding."

Tokage was glad she had a mask on; otherwise, everyone would have seen her laughing at her idol's misfortune. She remembered that the Commander was in critical condition when he started coughing up blood. Tokage quickly formed several hand seals before the green glow came back to her hands. She placed her hands over his lungs in an attempt to get rid of the blood that had seeped into his lungs. Next she placed her hands over his throat to see if his coughing had damaged his already burned throat. To her dismay, his coughing had furthered the damage that was already present in his throat.

Luckily, Jaga and Ookami returned with a stretcher; Jaga's cloak was tied over several branches, making a crude but effective stretcher.

"Jaga-kun, carefully lift the Commander and place him on the stretcher. Careful, careful!" Tokage ordered.

As soon as Naruto was on the stretcher, Jiraiya stepped forward. "I'll carry one end. He is my student after all."

Tokage nodded. "Doragon-kun! Carry the other end. I want the rest of you to run cover for us. Jaga-kun, as soon as we are within sight of Konoha, I want you to run ahead and alert Hokage-sama of the Commander's condition. She'll know what to prepare for his treatment." Doragon came running up the tree and grabbed the other end of the stretcher.

Jiraiya and Jaga jumped from tree to tree at a slower pace than usual in order to ensure that Naruto wouldn't be jostled around too much. Tokage ran next to them, ready to activate her medical chakra in seconds if she had to. The rest of Kuro Mizu ran ahead, to the sides, and behind them ready to battle any opponent and give their life in order to save their beloved Commander. And so, for the second time that day Kuro Mizu embarked on their return trip to Konoha after a successful mission.

-------------------------------------------------

Tsunade was not in a good mood. Since she had a good idea of what had caused the explosion, she knew that a battle was taking place. However, she had no idea how an explosion of that caliber could have taken place. It would have taken enough clay to build a large building to cause that explosion. Furthermore, she wasn't able to calm her nerves with a trust bottle of sake.

"Hokage-sama, I have urgent news!"

Tsunade looked behind her towards the entrance of her door to her office.

"How did you get pass the ANBU guards? They aren't supposed to let anyone in my office, even a member of Kuro Mizu," she said with a frown.

"Eh, I just ran past them. Not like you're alone in here," Jaga stated nonchalantly.

And indeed she wasn't. There were several ANBU members in her room. Of course, the only visible person in her room was Shizune. At least six other ANBU Black Ops members were hidden in the office. Normally, Jiraiya would be here with her, but he was out there fighting, risking his life while she was safe and protected in her office.

That was what was the hardest about this, being separated from Jiraiya. It couldn't be denied that the man was a pervert, but he was still her last person she could still call her teammate. Orochimaru didn't count, that murdering traitor. For years, they hadn't been in contact, which was her fault. When she finally got her head out of her ass and embraced her duty, Jiraiya left for three years.

When he finally returned, Tsunade was overwhelmed with joy. His return was darkened by the fact that Oto was getting bolder and stronger every day. This meant that Jiraiya had to spend more time out of Konoha and getting information from his spy network. It just wasn't fair that they weren't able to spend time together like teammates should. She was pulled out of her bitter thoughts as she heard what Jaga had to say.

"The Commander is badly hurt. Tokage-chan said that you would know what equipment to prepare."

Tsunade froze as his words registered in her head. Naruto…was badly hurt. How bad was his condition? It must be pretty bad if Tokage couldn't heal him; she had seen the iryo-nin of Kuro Mizu in action, and she could honestly say that she was more skilled than her own apprentice, Haruno Sakura.

Tokage knew why she was an iryo-nin, and she embraced her role within the elite squad. On the other hand, Sakura had yet to come to terms with the reason why she became an iryo-nin. For a while, it had seemed as if she would finally recognize the real reason. Unfortantely, her 'aging' was halted as she grew older and she started to yearn for her first 'love', Uchiha Sasuke, to return. Tsunade felt sorry for her apprentice; had she not been so…obsessed with the Uchiha, then she would have made a fine iryo-nin.

Simply put, because Tokage knew that she was an iryo-nin to heal others, she was the better of the two. Sakura, focused on becoming a better iryo-nin in order to impress the traitor. What a waste of talent.

Tsunade was pulled out of her musings as she heard Jaga describe Naruto's wounds.

"Tokage-chan said that the Commander has third degree wounds over most of his body and he's bleeding from a whole bunch of punctures. We think those wounds were caused by the debris from the explosion, but we can't be sure. He started to cough up blood just before we left to come back here."

Naruto's wounds weren't good. Having third degree wounds alone was hard enough to heal, but add that to puncture wounds made it almost impossible to heal without the support of a well-equipped hospital and a full staff.

"Thank you for alerting me of his condition. Return to Tokage-san and tell her that a room will be ready. I'll be waiting at the gates for your return and accompany you to the hospital."

"Arigato Hokage-sama," Jaga stated before he ran out of the office.

Tsunade started barking out orders. "Shizune, go to the hospital and alert Trauma Team One of the situation. I want you to oversee the preparations for the Naruto's treatment; I'm sure you know what needs to be there. "

"Hai!" Shizune stated before she ran out of Tsunade's office.

Tsunade started walking towards the main gates, shadowed by her ANBU Black Ops guards. _'Naruto, I don't know how, but you always manage to get yourself in the worst possible condition. I hope that you're letting Tokage-san know what a valuable member of your team she is.'_

-------------------------------------------

"Kurenai-sensei, my colony has detected a large amount of chakra heading towards our position at a moderately fast speed," Shino stated. To most people, it would seem that he was still as emotionless as ever, but to those who knew him well, it was easy to tell that he was as tense as ever. His arms were down by his side, which allowed him easy access to his kunai holster.

"Hinata-chan, what do you see?" Kurenai asked.

"Ano…t-the d-distance is t-too g-great f-f-f-for me to identify them. H-however, I do know that t-there a-are at l-least six of them traveling t-t-towards us," she stated with her Byakugan activated.

"Damn. Everyone, stay on guard. Kiba, if the chakra signatures belong to Akatsuki members or some other enemy, then I want you and Akamaru to go alert the Hokage of our situation," Kurenai ordered.

"Kurenai-sensei, I'm the muscle of this team! I should stay here and fight! Have Shino play mail-boy!"

Kurenai glared at her brash student. "Kiba, it would not do well for your shinobi profile if I had to add another count of insubordination to it," she threatened.

Kiba immediately shut up. Having more counts of insubordination to his name would not be good at all. Not only did it hamper his chances of being promoted, but it didn't help him in the slightest of wooing Hinata-chan.

He was anticipating the upcoming fight. If he ran fast enough, he might be able to reach the Hokage Tower and be back before the fight was over. Then, if he was really lucky he would be able to kill one of the Akatsuki members and have that kill tacked on to his reputation. Taking down a S-ranked nuke-nin would overshadow all of his counts of insubordination!

Of course, if he was to make the trip in time, then he would have to use a soldier pill…or two. And then the fight against an Akatsuki member might be tough; he may have to take two soldier pills to win. He unconsciously licked his lips as he thought about taking the soldier pills. They made him feel so good after he took them. It felt like his chakra reserves were being increased whenever he took one. When he took more than what was deemed as safe, he felt as if he could challenge Kami to a duel…and win. He loved his soldier pills almost as much as he lusted after Hinata.

"Hinata-chan! What's wrong?" Kurenai asked. Her only female student's face was a ghastly white and her eyes were extremely wide with tears glistening in them. Both of her hands were desperately clutching a necklace that she was wearing. A small part of Kurenai's mind wondered where she had gotten that necklace; she hadn't seen her wear it before and Hinata wasn't the type that wore jewelry. She mentally filed away her observation for a later date; Hinata's condition was much more important.

"N…n…na…" she managed to stutter out. How? How could this have happened? Why? Why now, of all times why now?

"Yes?" Kurenai stated encouragingly.

Hinata swallowed. "It's N-naruto-kun, Jiraiya-sama, and K-kuro Mizu."

"From your current complexion, I assume that you are worried. What is there to worry aobut?" Shino questioned. If there had been any danger, then his colony would've discovered it and relayed the information to him.

"N-naruto-kun...he's badly hurt. He's being c-c-carried on a stretcher. I…I think h-his b-body is c-c-covered in b-b-burns," she explained.

"Hmph. Typical of him. He was lucky enough to be able to go out and search for the Akatsuki team and he ends up getting injured. What a fool," Kiba angrily stated.

Hinata gasped. "N-naruto-kun…he must be s-s-seriously injured! Tsunade-sama ran out of the v-village to heal him!"

"Are they staying outside?" Kurenai asked. She knew how deeply the Hokage cared for the orphan, but going outside while an unknown threat lurked around was not a move that a Hokage should make.

"No. T-they s-s-seem to be heading t-t-towards the hospital."

"Okay. Excitements over! We need to stay alert, trouble could be right around the corner!" Kurenai barked. She didn't fail to notice the downcast look that covered Hinata's face.

Kurenai discreetly walked over to Hinata and placed on hand on her shoulder. When she had her student's attention, she whispered, "As soon as the all clear is sounded, I'm ordering you to go to the hospital and check on Naruto's condition, okay?" Hinata just smiled and nodded her head.

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Tsunade threw the doors open to the room that Shizune had prepared for Naruto. Shizune, along with six other iryo-nins, were waiting there in the room along with carts of equipment. He was in critical condition; the burns on his body were much worse than she had expected; she wasn't sure what Deidara's explosives were made of, but whatever he used it was potent.

As soon as Jaga and Jiraiya entered the room with Naruto on the stretcher, Tsunade gently lifted him up off of the stretcher and onto the hospital bed.

"Jiraiya, I want you to take control of the Konoha's security. The rest of you, rendevous with the rest of your squad. I believe that they are somewhere in the center of Konoha; Wani-san said you would know where they are." she ordered. Silently, the present members of Kuro Mizu and Jiraiya walked out. "Tokage-san, I would like you to stay here. You can help heal Naruto."

Tokage was stunned. "It…it would be an honor!"

Tsunade smiled at the kunoichi's enthusiasm. If only her own apprentice was like Tokage.

"Okay, the first thing we need to do is remove all the splinters and debris that is in his body! Let's get to work people!"

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Hinata was quietly waiting outside of the operating room. Shizune-san had been thoughtful enough to leave a note with the hospital receptionist, telling her which room Naruto-kun was in.

It had been almost four hours since the strange explosion had taken place and two hours since the all-clear was given. As soon as it was given, she had rushed over to the hospital to check on Naruto-kun's condition.

Hinata was sitting alone in the hallway. She was surprised that no one else was there. It saddened her that no one else had bothered to check up on him. Then again, maybe no one else knew of his condition. Her team knew, but they had a clan meeting to attend to. It was procedure; all major clans would have meetings in the wake of a general distress call to evaluate the situation. Hinata didn't have to attend her own clan meeting because her sensei had given her an order to check on Naruto-kun. Kurenai-sensei was probably meeting with Asuma-sensei.

What she didn't understand was why Naruto's team wasn't here. Sakura was the apprentice to Tsunade-sama; surely she would know that Naruto was in serious condition wouldn't she? If she knew and still chose not to show up, then that was inexcusable.

Suddenly, the door opened and a weary Tsunade, Shizune, Tokage-san, and six other iryo-nins walked out. Shizune smiled as she saw Hinata sitting outside the room and elbowed Tsunade. The two walked towards the waiting kunoichi while the others walked towards the break room to get some well deserved rest.

"H-how is N-naruto-kun?"

"He's fine. He'll be making a full recovery. In fact he will be able to have visitors when he wakes up in hour. Right now, he needs to rest," Shizune stated with a small smile on her face. It was heart-warming to see how much the Hyuuga heiress cared for little Naruto-kun. Now, if only she could make the person that she saw as a little brother figure out that Hinata had a crush on him! Sometimes, she wanted to bash her head against the nearest surface when she saw Naruto try to woo Sakura.

Now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember the last time she had seen Naruto make a fool of himself. Was he starting to realize how futile his attempts were? If only that was the reason, because then the shy Hyuuga would have a great chance of hooking up with the blonde knucklehead. He had probably stopped wooing Sakura because he was the commander of Kuro Mizu.

Hinata sighed with relief. "Arigat Hokage-sama. Arigato Shizune-san. I saw N-naruto-kun's wounds as h-h-he was brought i-into the v-village. T-they looked r-r-rather bad."

Tsunade chuckled. "Oh, were they bad. I assume that you saw the explosion, so you should know that the knuckle-head was caught in the blast radius. He was covered in burns and he was full of splinters and other debris. The largest piece of debris that we had to pull out was in his right arm; that particular splinter was six inches long."

Hinata paled as she heard the Hokage describe Naruto's wounds. She knew that they were serious, but she hadn't imagined that he was wounded to such an extent.

"Tsunade-sama, you shouldn't gross out Hinata-chan!" Shizune chided.

"Fine, fine. Whatever. You can go in and wait for him to wake up Hinata-chan," Tsunade relented.

"Arigato," Hinata stated before bowing to both of them and walking into the room.

"Oh, one more thing Hinata-chan," Tsunade stated. The young Hyuuga turned to face the Hokage with a questioning look in her eyes.

"That's a very nice necklace you have on. You didn't have it during the mission briefing earlier. Who gave it to you?" Tsunade asked with a teasing smile.

Hinata blushed red. She didn't think that anyone would notice it! "Ano…this necklace…" she finished her sentence with incoherent mumblings.

Shizune smiled as she realized what the stuttering could mean. This was so cute!

Tsunade's smile grew even wider. It seemed that little Naruto-chan had finally grown up and saw the jewel that was right in front of him! She would have to tease him the next time she saw him.

Hinata finally stopped her mumbles when she noticed the look on the two older kunocihis' faces.

"Well Hinata-chan, who gave you that necklace?" Tsunade asked once again.

"N-n-n-naruto-kun…" she stated, extremely embarrassed.

The two older kunoichi shared a smile as they stared at the furiously blushing Hyuuga.

"Take care of Naruto, okay? He may not be the smartest shinobi, but he has the biggest heart of anyone I know," Tsunade stated.

"Tsunade-sama is right Hinata-chan. Naruto-kun will willingly take any blow meant for his precious people. Since he gave you that necklace, I think that goes double for you," explained Shizune.

"I would t-take any b-blow a-a-aimed for N-n-naruto-kun as w-well," Hinata firmly stated with an even brighter blush on her face. She bowed once again before turning around and walking into Naruto's room.

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"Isn't young love beautiful Tsunade-sama?"

"Hai, it is. As an early wedding present, I think I'll give Naruto…or rather Fenikkusu less missions."

"Wedding present?! Tsunade-sama, don't you think you're getting ahead of yourself? They haven't even gone on a date yet!"

"True, but they already love each other. Naruto was just too thick-headed to see it. Besides, the life of a shinobi is dangerous. You never know when things might go wrong," she explained. When she reached the last part of her explanation, her face darkened.

Shizune put a comforting hand on her mentor's elbow. She knew that Tsunade-sama was thinking of her uncle.

Tsunade patted Shizune's hand and smiled. "Arigato. We should get back to my office; calling a general distress call will add so much paper work to my work."

Shizune laughed. "Well, if you didn't go drinking on the job, then you wouldn't have that problem, would you?"

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Hinata sat in the chair that had been left next to Naruto-kun's bed. Naruto-kun's burns were covered with some sort of ointment. On the few spots that weren't covered with the mysterious ointment, there were bandages. She supposed that the bandages were covering the wounds from the debris.

Upon closer inspection, Hinata could see that his burn wounds were healing. New skin was slowly growing over it. She had seen Naruto recover almost instantly from wounds that he received during missions. At first, she had thought that he had an unregistered bloodline, but then she was told of the Kyuubi.

Her newfound knowledge had made many things clear to her. She had always wondered why so many of the villagers and shinobi were so cruel to Naruto-kun. When she found out about the Kyuubi, she wanted to go yell at everyone who had ever been cruel to him. However, she wasn't quite courageous enough to do that, so she did the next best thing. She started her won boycott.

She knew from following Naruto-kun which stores treated him badly. So she decided to stop frequenting those shops. Luckily, the bakery that sold her favorite cinnamon buns didn't mistreat him. Ichiraku was the only place that truly welcomed his presence there.

Hinata wondered how bad Nartuo-kun's wounds were. Shouldn't the Kyuubi have healed his wounds by now? Was the explosion that he was caught up in so powerful that the Kyuubi had exhausted itself trying to heal Naruto-kun?

She sighed. It was so hard to see Naruto-kun in the hospital. He wasn't the energetic blonde that she drew so much inspiration from when he was injured. She got up to open the blinds; the room was so dark and dreary.

As she opened the blinds, she couldn't help but smile. The view was so nice despite what had just happened. She imagined that when, not if but when, Naruto-kun became Hokage he would enjoy the same view that she was seeing.

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Naruto had been awake at the beginning of his operation. He had some very important information to relay to Baachan. After he had whispered to her that he had to talk to her along with Ero-sennin and his squad in private, she discreetly nodded and whispered back that she would meet with him later that night. Then, he had fallen asleep; using the Hirashin no Jutsu for such a long distance was exhausting, even with his larger than usual chakra reserves. He hadn't used any of the Kyuubi's chakra in that jump.

He was planning on sleeping until Tsunade-baachan came back to meet with him, but someone opened his blinds and caused what little sunlight was left to hit him right in the eyes. Naruto opened his eyes and saw the last person he expected to see-Hyuuga Hinata.

Why was she visiting him? In fact, why did he have any visitors? He didn't know that anyone knew he was in the hospital. Not one for subtlety, he decided to ask his question instead of trying to figure it out on his own.

"Hinata, why are you here?"

Hinata jumped in surprise. Didn't Tsunade-sama say that Naruto-kun would still be asleep for a couple of hours?

"I s-saw y-you being c-c-carried into the village. Y-your wounds l-l-looked very serious. D-do they hurt?"

"Not really. Tsunade-baachan is a really good iryo-nin." Naruto still couldn't figure out why Hinata was here. He decided that the only way he would find out would be to ask her again. "Hinata, why are you visiting me?"

"Ano…yes."

Naruto blinked a few times while he pondered her response. After a few seconds, he still couldn't figure out how her response was an answer to his question. So he decided that he needed to ask her again.

"Eh, Hinata? I still don't understand why you're here."

"The question you a-asked me before the general d-d-distress call…yes."

Naruto's eyes widened as he realized what she had been trying to tell him. "Oh, you want to be my girlfriend?"

Hinata looked down at her feet. "Hai. That is, if y-you s-s-still w-w-want me to be."

"Of course I do! Why wouldn't I? You're beautiful, smart, beautiful, strong, beautiful, nice, and…well, you're everything any guy would want in a girlfriend!" Naruto exclaimed.

"N-naruto-kun…you repeated beautiful a couple of times," Hinata stated as she giggle into her hands.

"Well, it's true! You're so beautiful that using it once when describing you would be a grave injustice!"

Hinata walked away from the blinds and got closer to Naruto. "Do you really think so?"

"Hai. I'm really glad that you decided to grow your hair out Hinata-chan. It looks great."

"Arigato Naruto-kun." Before she could say anything else, she noticed that he was trying to stifle a yawn. "Naruto-kun, you don't have to stay awake because I'm here. Go to sleep, you need your rest."

"I don't wanna!" Naruto pouted like a little kid, causing Hinata to smile. Here was one of the strongest shinobi that Konoha had, and he was complaining because he didn't want to go to bed.

"Naruto-kun, please get some rest. You need to rest if you want to heal faster," Hinata pleaded.

"But if I go to sleep then I won't be able to go on a date with you!"

Hinata blushed. She didn't think that Naruto-kun would be thinking about going on a date while he was still in the hospital. "Well, the sooner you go to sleep, then the sooner we'll be able to go on a date, okay?"

"Fine, have it your way," he said before closing his eyes.

Hinata smiled; she was glad that she was able to convince Naruto-kun to go to sleep; she knew how stubborn he could be when he wanted to. She sat down in the chair next to his bed and sighed.

Suddenly, her left hand was grasped by Naruto's right hand. "There, now I can go to sleep."

Hinata blushed. They hadn't even been dating for a day yet, and they were already holding hands! She was so thankful that she had started training with him; if she hadn't then she didn't think that they would be this close. With her free hand, she ran it through Naruto-kun's messy hair.

Soon, she heard his breathing deepen. Though he was sleeping, his hold on her hand didn't lessen. It was very nice to be sitting next to her boyfriend while he held her hand. Before she realized it, she was slowly drifting off to sleep.

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"Well, well, well, looks like little Naru-chan finally grew some balls and got himself a woman!"

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he was rudely awakened. "Shut up Ero-sennin!"

"Aww, is little Naru-chan embarrassed that he has a girlfriend?"

Before Naruto could retort, he felt Hinata struggling to get free of his grasp. He looked at her, only to see the side of her face. Why wouldn't she look at him? Was she embarrassed of having him as a boyfriend?

Naruto started to analyze the situation; not as Uzumaki Naruto, but as Fenikkusu, the Commander of Kuro Mizu. If he didn't have to be Naruto, then he was able to think more clearly; he didn't have to pretend to be a jokester.

He decided to make a list of observations. Hinata had seemed to be genuinely happy about their new relationship, she wasn't a liar, and she seemed to be more than willing to go on a date with him. Why was she acting this way then?

Suddenly, it hit him. She wasn't embarrassed of their relationship. She thought that _he_ was embarrassed. Was she such a good person that she would go against the desires of her heart in order to make him feel more comfortable? Naruto knew what he had to do.

Instead of loosening his grasp on her hand, he tightened it. Not enough that it would hurt, but enough to let his girlfriend know that he wasn't about to let go of her hand anytime soon.

"I got the most beautiful girlfriend in the world! And it's not your business Ero-sennin!"

Hinata let out a sigh of relief. For a second, she thought that Naruto-kun was going to deny their relationship. When he tightened his grip on her hand, she was so relieved.

"Well gaki, you got a fine catch! I bet you're wishing that you had gone with me on my 'research expeditions' now huh? If you had gone with me, then you would've been way more experienced! Man, remember the last town we were in? There was this one lady and boy, was she skilled! I mean, right when we started, she…oh shit, I'm dead."

Suddenly Jiraiya's face was firmly planted in the floor. A fuming Tsunade stood right behind him, with her right hand curled into a fist and raised into the air.

"Stupid Ero-baka! Why did you ruin the moment?! They were sleeping so peacefully together!" Tsunade yelled.

"Don't worry Tsunae-sama, I took pictures of the lovebirds!" Shizune reassured the Hokage with stars in her eyes. "They're just so cute!"

The two lovebirds started to blush. Hinata was too embarrassed to say anything. Naruto however, didn't have that problem at all.

"What the hell?! You took pictures of us?! I'm going to kill you!" Naruto would have jumped out of his bed to grab the pictures, but he was still holding onto Hinata's hand and he didn't want to drag her with him.

"Don't worry, no one is going to see them…except for us, Kurenai-chan, Iruka-kun, Kakashi-kun, Ayame-chan, and Teuchi-kun," Shizune stated with an evil smile.

"I think I'm going to frame that and put it on the wall of my office, where everyone can see it," teased Tsunade.

"Damn it Tsunade-baachan! If you frame that picture, I swear, I'll beat the shit out of you, you ugly old bitch!"

Tsunade's eyes started to twitch. She would let him call her 'Baachan' from time to time, but calling her ugly was out of the question. Hinata noticed the murderous gleam in the Hokage's eyes and decided to act quickly to save her new boyfriend.

"N-naruto-kun," Naruto immediately turned to look at Hinata when she spoke, "y-you shouldn't use such l-language and be s-s-so disrespectful t-t-to Tsunade-sama."

Naruto sighed. "Fine…but I still get to call her Baachan!"

Tsunade just blinked. Did Naruto just agree to be more polite to her? She had been trying to get him to be more polite for years, and now he agreed to be polite because the Hyuuga heiress had told him to. Well, that wasn't entirely true; Naruto was extremely respectful when he was in ANBU uniform. She wasn't afraid to admit that she preferred a disrespectful and energetic Naruto than the respectful and emotionless Fenikkusu.

As much as she wanted to give the new couple some time to be alone, she had to talk to Naruto about what had happened during his battle. Seeing as he requested that his squad be present during his mission debriefing, she didn't think that he would want Hinata to be present. She didn't think that Naruto would tell his new girlfriend to leave, so that left her to be the big meanie.

"Hinata-chan, would you mind waiting outside? I have to hear Naruto's report of his mission, and until I have all the facts, I can't let anyone outside of those who were present hear it," Tsunade gently explained.

Hinata frowned. She didn't want to leave, not yet. For years she had been longing for Naruto-kun to see her as something other than a shy weird girl. The pressure on her hand increased slightly for a second. She looked questioningly towards Naruto-kun.

"Hey, don't worry, I'll still be here. The mission debriefing shouldn't take more than an hour. As soon as I'm done, I'll come out and get you, okay?" Naruto said with a small smile on his face.

"Don't you dare! Y-y-you need t-t-to rest b-b-before you c-c-can get out of b-b-bed!" Hinata boldly stated as she freed her hand from his grip.

"But Hinata-chan, what about our date?" whined Naruto.

"T-that can wait u-u-until you're h-h-healed. I'll g-go get us some r-r-ramen f-f-from Ichiraku s-so we can e-e-eat it a-a-after y-your mission debriefing," Hinata reasoned as she walked towards the door.

"You will?! You're the greatest Hinata-chan! Thanks a bunch!"

Hinata's face was still a bright red when she walked out of Naruto's room. As she walke out of the hospital, she wondered how many bowls of ramen she should get. Nine should be enough; one for her and eight for Naruto-kun.

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As soon as Hinata walked out of the room, Tsunade flew through a series of hand seals, activating a silencing jutsu to ensure that what was said in this room stayed in the room. She bent down and pulled Jiraiya out of the floor. When she was level again, she was surprised to see the rest of Kuro Mizu present. She hadn't even heard them enter the room or felt their chakra signature.

Naruto's eyes lost the carefree expression. "I have much to tell you…Senju Tsunade."

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Author's Notes: Okay, so if everything goes as planned, this is the second to last chapter. If things go like they have been going, then this might go on to have a fourth chapter.

I'm going to go to work on chapter three of Prodigy of the Spirit Realm next.

Read and review please!


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